Remember the Slytherins
by iLuna17
Summary: There is a thin line between love and hate. There is an even thinner line between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and it is not good and evil. But that is what they remember us as; evil. We're going to change that. They will remember us with the same glory as the Gryffindors, as the phoenix rising from the ashes. They'll remember the Slytherins.
1. Prologue: The Week of Tears

**Prologue: The Week of Tears**

The first week of Hogwarts was meant to be magical. Wonderful, blissful; a dream come true. Not in the Slytherin house. For us it is made of salty, wet tears. Introducing innocent eleven-year-olds to the harsh world that is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Showing them the hexes, the taunts, and the prejudice. The harsh awakening. Where people of green and silver are seen as filth at the bottom of everyone's shoes. Only the strong are put in Slytherin, for only they can survive the seven years of torture. But it all starts in the first week. I remember my first week, but it wasn't the worst for me. It was the worst for my best friends, Albus Potter and Piper Longbottom.

_I stumbled up to the stool, and eagerly placed the hat on my head. My parents had worn the exact same hat, and even if I couldn't see them, Hogwarts was where they spent seven years of their life; it was the next best thing. _

"_Another Warrington at long last. I sense this school means more to you than others, perhaps in the same way another young student who wore this very hat many years ago. He ended up saving the wizarding world. Alas, this is about you. You have the fighting spirit of a Gryffindor, yes, but the brains of a Ravenclaw and the loyalty of a Hufflepuff. _

_So where to put you? You could do great things in all three houses, but I believe you are meant for something different. You could do extraordinary things in Slytherin. You are strong, and one of the few I believe could survive in the house of the hated._" I nodded in my head; my parents were Slytherins. Having never known them, my eleven-year-old self wanted nothing more than to feel close to them, even if I was merely in the same house they were. "SLYTHERIN!"

For me it was a chance to follow my parents. They hadn't done anything wrong, but it was their past that tore them from me. I knew Slytherins had made some questionable choices during the war, but I had hoped times had changed. They had, but not for the better. It had been easier for me; I was used to being shunned and unwanted. Hardly anyone was sorted into Slytherin anymore; we were the least populated table, lucky to have five new first years. Hogwarts was still abundant with those who were resourceful, driven, and intelligent, but none _wanted_ to be in Slytherin. In the end, the Sorting Hat would not be able to force them into Slytherin, even though it was where they were meant to be. The hat could not allow any student to be miserable, even though it was the best option for some. There were only three of us in my year, as everyone else who could be in our house was either too weak to withstand the torture, in the hat's opinion, or thought Slytherins should be killed like cockroaches or rats, some both. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were becoming overpopulated.

It was true, most students weren't strong enough to withstand the tormenting that came with the green ties. Poor Al, his own family shunned him. Only his parents, aunts and uncles _seemed_ to understand, but it could be because they would be seen as hypocritical if they didn't accept him. His brother and sister refused to speak to him after his sorting, as they thought him a traitor; joining the house where the man who tried to murder their father multiple times came from. Obviously, if one bad wizard came from Slytherin, we were all evil. His cousins were even worse, they hexed him as if he was just another disgusting snake, a filthy creature that couldn't be human, not if they were a Slytherin. Those bright green eyes had seen so much sadness and harm it was horrific. Imagine going from having an entire family to just adults in the space of a second. If you truly can, then you can understand Albus Severus Potter.

The worst part is, the rest of the world isn't like Hogwarts. Those who fought in the war understood the value of unity, and would be ashamed to hear of their children acting in the manner they have. The Potter and Weasley families would be _furious_ if they knew. _If they knew_. The fact is that they do not. If Professor Longbottom found out about the severity of his students' actions, Harry Potter would know. Another flaw: he _didn't_ know. Mostly the professors who were aware of the situation still held grudges against our house, some to the point of pure, fiery hatred. They were searching for revenge on those who hurt them or loved ones. However, it is not justice, making the children of those who made _one_ wrong choice pay for their parents' sins. There was still the option that Professor Creevey was simply a sadist, though.

Anyways, even Al didn't have it as bad as Piper. She grew up as the youngest sibling to four older brothers, who all made Gryffindor. Her dad was the Gryffindor head of house! Her mum's name was Hannah, and both Professor Longbottom and her were subjected to torment and torture by Slytherins during the war. When Mrs. Longbottom found out about Piper. . . she couldn't look at her the same again. She couldn't see her daugher; all she could see was the colour of her tie. Professor Longbottom tried to accept it, but even the glorified war hero couldn't look in his own daughter in the eyes. Having to see your father every day, but knowing he couldn't bear to look at you, who had betrayed him, tore Pipes apart. Professor Longbottom did not approve of the tormenting or the hexing, but I could always sense the feeling of betrayal. So, Piper lost her family to her house.

What they say about us is true: Slytherins tear families apart. Because we are Slytherins our families are ripped from us; we're shunned. My parents were brought to Azkaban in the December of 2006, only six months after I was born. It was eight years after the war, and my dad had no way to support our family because of his participation in the war. To try to stay afloat, he and mum tried to sell some of my dad's parents' things. They were arrested for selling dark objects, which appeared to be harmless tea pots, even to them. I, Nicole Anne Warrington, was officially a ward of the Ministry. I was shipped from foster home to foster home, but no one wanted the daughter of "dark wizards".

They weren't bloody dark! It was a mistake, just like in school! Throughout their life, they only made two mistakes, that's all. And it lead to them rotting in Azkaban. My "social worker" is Ms. Dominique Weasley, who of course hates me because my (deceased) grandad knew the werewolf who hurt her father. Some of the houses she put me in. . . No. I won't make you lot hear about them.

In short, I'm never sure where I'll be during the summer, except that I'll end up running. My most creative bed so far has been in a sewer, but the Ministry were close to catching me so I had no other option. I couldn't sleep in the open, as I would either be detained or dragged back to the home.

This was only scratching the surface. No one knows how strong you have to be to survive school wearing emerald robes. We work twice as hard as the rest of them, yet our efforts often bear no fruit. That doesn't mean we won't fight; no. That means we will fight a hundredfold harder. We are Slytherins. We. Do. Not. Give. In.

The next time you think Gryffindors are the heroes, the ones who persevered, who fought against injustice, remember us.

Remember the Slytherins.


	2. Drama

**A/N: **I don't own HP. That'd be J.K. Also, many thanks to my amazing beta, Abi! (who also betad the first chapter)

**Chapter One: Drama**

"Nick, we got another one!" Albus called from across the entrance to the common room. I groaned; I hated the first week of school. It was full of tears, but I personally believed the hexing was good for the first years. It was a wake up call to what the next seven years would be. Yet I walked over anyways, to where Piper had set up the normal healing station. She was the best at curing curses, and going to the Hospital Wing would be giving the other houses the satisfaction of knowing we had given in. Losing was not an option. We were Slytherins after all.

"What's your name, honey?" I asked the boy with pustules covering his body, and he gave me an incredulous look; he was eleven, not five. I immediately liked him.

"Flynn. Flynn Avery," He responded, and I smiled.

"Well, Flynn, I have sparkly fantastic news. This is nothing Piper and the others can't fix. I can see you're strong; that's good to have in Slytherin. Welcome to the house of "evil scum", as we are lovingly dubbed." I stuck out my hand, my voice chipper.

"My dad knew your dad. Or grandad, maybe. It's Warrington, right? I've heard a lot about you, my social worker once had to rush off because you ran again. They sent me to take your spot. The year of the Stebbins, right, and Ms. Weasley?" He shuddered while I winced. The Stebbins were fond of what the rest of us called "black outs", where if you misbehave your head meets water until you'd "black out".

"You got spunk. I like that," I laughed, knowing he knew that even this was a sanctuary compared to outside of school, something Al and Piper found mental, before remembering the poor kid was covered with pustules. "Now go see Piper, the girl with the blond hair. She'll fix you up quick," I directed, and he left, but Al arched his eyebrow at me.

"What was that-"

"Nothing!" I hadn't told Al about the bad homes yet. I wasn't ready, as the more the Ministry deemed me a "runner", the tougher of homes they put me in. Harder to escape from, you see.

"It wasn't, and I didn't get to hear from you all holidays. Where were you?" Besides from that awful foster home? Running. Again. It was going okay, until. . .

The worst part was I thought it would be different. They were nice. . . until they saw my robes. They had gotten my hopes up, just to have them be crushed again. I thought they actually gave a damn about me. I only made it two weeks into the holidays before running, and I had spent from July 1st to August 5th on the run. The rest I spent in the Ministry. They had a _lovely_ juvenile detention centre.

"Out and about. Speaking of holidays, how was yours?" I asked, though my eyes were still on Flynn Avery, almost daring him to tell Albus something I didn't want him to know.

"Same as always. Glaring, silence, a few hexes, and spending my time either flying on a broom or locked in my room. How was yours?"

"Same as you," I said weakly.

"You sure?" Albus Potter was too perceptive for my liking. Thank Merlin another first year entered, bawling her eyes out. I went to comfort her, as the rest of our measly house was grouped around the five first years, trying to explain it all to them. Finally the tears stopped, and we sent the first years to their dorms. We weren't just a house, we were a family. We laughed together, we helped each other, and we cried together. Now I could catch up with Piper, as Albus was discussing Quidditch tactics with the male members of our team. I'm a beater, but he knew I wanted to talk to Piper, so he let me be. That was why we were mates.

"All right. What happened?" Piper knew me too well. She was our resident genius, and her deep brown eyes looked so innocent and puppy-like it was hard not to give into them as soon as she asked. Her blond hair was always curly and crazy, usually pulled into two plaits. Now it was hastily thrown up into a bun, having just finished healing the first hexes of "The Week of Tears".

"I ran away. Again." Piper glared at me. "Don't look at me like that! It was going well, really well, I mean, I actually thought they might actually-"

"Adopt you? Like you?" I nodded, and Piper put her arm around me. "I still can't imagine having to _hope_ that someone cared," Piper ranted.

"You're life isn't exactly a picnic," I pointed out.

"It's been easier than yours-"

"But your family-"

"They're pricks-"

"But they're _family-_"

"So, it's their fault-"

"Family-"

"I SWEAR TO MERLIN IF YOU SAY FAMILY ONE MORE TIME I WILL MURDER YOU, NICOLE ANNE WARRINGTON!" Ouch. The full name. She's angry. . .

"But it's true! You were so close to your older brothers, your mum-"

"Until they started acting like complete and utter idiots. And my _mother _could be dead for all I care," Piper seethed.

"Don't say that!" I pleaded, though I was proud of my Slytherin self for successfully switching the topic. Or at least I thought I had.

"Don't think you've gotten away with this. Why did you run, Nickki? I thought we talked about this. . ." She thought I had "commitment" issues. I just preferred running to actually facing my problems. How was that a problem?

"Look. They were amazing, it was like they actually gave a-"

"Nick," Piper warned.

"It was like they actually _cared_. Then they saw all my school stuff. Then it happened. Again. The cold shoulder, the way they looked at me. I couldn't take it; I ran," I admitted, and Piper put her arm around me; she knew I was on the verge of tears. It was just so bloody hard sometimes, being a foster kid.

"How long. . . how long did you run?" She asked nervously, though her arm was rubbing comforting circles on my back. I saw her glance up, and she and Al had a private conversation with their eyes. I hated when they did that.

"July 1st to August 5th. A new record," I told her, and she gasped.

"All that time? How did you eat? Where did you sleep?" She said worriedly, but I did not want to give her the details. Until I saw those sad, brown eyes. They looked so innocent and curious most of the time, like she was just seeing the world for the first time. Now they looked as if they wish they hadn't.

"Rats are tasty. Sewers and park benches are comfortable," I shrugged.

"Nick!" She slapped my arm. It was healthy enough, though the Ministry food wasn't exactly gourmet. The best thing I atehad all summer was a butterbeer in my "counsellor's" office. It was required after running away more than twice that we problem children "addressed our issues".

"Where were you the rest of the summer?" My look was enough.

"You need to stop being sent to the Ministry. Pretty soon they'll expel you!"

"Yep. The next time I run, I get expelled. I believe I was told that every day by Ms. Dominique Weasley, my magical social worker." I hated her, and she thought I was a nuisance. That and she had to Apparate or floo me to my new "home" every summer break. Albus heard "Weasley" and had walked over.

"What's this I hear about my dear cousin?"

"Bloody bint," I muttered under my breath.

"What'd Dommie do now?"

"Put me with more pricks. I ran away, and ended up spending the last month of holidays in the Ministry,"

"I knew that much. My dad's Harry Potter, remember? He knows when someone is one run away from being expelled," Albus said, smirking only slightly. Of course he would know, his dad saved the bloody planet!

"She ate rats, Al!" Piper exclaimed, before bursting out into tears. It normally doesn't bother her, I wondered what was wrong.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a secret," I commented before Al and I put our arms around our friend.

"It's just. . . it's just, you know? This is too much, and everyone hates us, they hate us all. Just because. . . just because we're Slytherins! Even the professors! First years don't deserve to be hexed! They're always so sad! They don't deserve this! No one does! And so many of us. . . so many of us are labelled "problem" kids", because our parents chose what their families told them to! So they grow up alone, and end up eating rats!" At least that's what I understood through the tears.

"Blimey, Piper, what happened?" Al asked, looking astonished at Piper's watery eyes.

"It's. . . it's my dad. Normally it's just my mum and brothers who have problems with. . . with Slytherin, but Dad is acting colder, and I can't lose him, too! I'll have no one!" Piper and her dad weren't particularly close, but Neville Longbottom was a pretty cool bloke, as cool as someone who hates Slytherins can be. At least he didn't hate us as much as Professor Creevey did. . .

"You'll be like me!" I said cheerfully, though Albus glared. Everyone was emotional today it seemed. I guess it came with the Week of Tears.

"No. I like Uncle Neville, he's a good bloke. He really cares for you, and-"

"Oh cut it out, Albus! He can hardly look Piper in the eye and you know it!" I said getting annoyedin an annoyed manner; I hated when people sugarcoated life. "Life is a piece of dragon dung, so get over it. It doesn't get any easier from here," I said harshly, and my comment was met with silence.

"Nick, can I talk to you a moment?" Albus asked pleasantly, though his teeth and fists were clenched.

"Well. . . I think I might be busy," I said dramatically, secretly fearing what he wanted to talk about. Albus didn't listen but grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into another corner of our common room.

"Why did you say that?" He asked, his eyes emerald flames.

"Which bit? The part about Professor Longbottom, or the part about life?" I asked innocently.

"Both."

"It's true," I said simply. "It's the truth and anyone who naively hopes it will change is barking."

"You need to stop being so pessimistic. I thought that's what-"

"The counsellors don't give a rat's fart unless they're being paid. Your cousin herself told me that," I answered, knowing where this was going.

"It's not good to keep all that anger bottled up, Nick," Albus warned before suddenly smiling. "I dunno what I would do if I could only visit you once a year because you were in Azkaban because-" Albus started, as it was a long-running joke that one day I would go on a killing rampage and murder around three quarters of the student body.

"I killed all of your cousins? Transfigured Professor Creevey into a green and silver pony that could only sing in a high-pitched voice?" But all the colour drained from Al's face. Someone was standing behind me.

"As amusing as that would be, Ms. Warrington, I am afraid that could potentially warrant some punishment, and I really don't want to have to fill out all that paper work." Professor Zabini chuckled, and I immediately relaxed. Professor Zabini was our head of house, and he was our defender and protector in student vs. professor cases.

"Darn. I learned all those spells for nothing," I replied, as it wasn't weird for us to joke around with our head of house. He often came into the common room, as there were around twenty to thirty Slytherins total compared to the seventy in all of the other houses. It was pitiful, really.

"May I have a word, Nick?" This was about the Ministry, I could tell.

"Does it have to be alone?" I asked, glancing at Al. Professor Zabini sighed.

"Preferably, as it involves the Headmaster," He replied, looking grim. I hated Headmaster Anslem. He hated me, and if he wanted to see me this early in the year it must involve the summer.

"Will Ms. Weasley be there as well?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't be.

"Yes. I am allowed in, so I will see what I can do,, aye?" So I left Albus and headed towards my doom, while everyone else watched. We had no secrets in this house, as most were in the same position as me.

So Professor Zabini and I walked in silence until we came to the Headmaster's office. He stopped suddenly and turned to me.

"Did you run again this summer?" I sighed; I really hated the first week of school.

"Yeah," I answered simply.

"Was it because of the . . . home?" He knew some homes were worse than others. He talked to the other foster kids often, and some spilled on the more scarring bits.

"The people."

"Did they. . . hurt you?"

"Not physically, if that's what you're trying to get at. It was actually going really well, until they saw my school stuff. Apparently they didn't know they signed up to take in a Slytherin," I said plainly without giving way to the tears I had nearly spilt in the common room before.

"So how long did you run?" He knew not to probe further. I never told anyone the details, as that was between myself and I.

"One month, four days, eleven hours, and thirty-three minutes. A new record, I think," I smiled at that.

"I'm impressed. You know the first year, Flynn Avery?" I nodded, that was the boy from the common room. "His record is the longest after you, but it was only for two weeks."

"You just need to learn how to hide. I could teach him, if you want. . ." I smiled, as I had almost been caught a few times. Luckily I wasn't afraid of dark alleys in bad parts of London.

"Merlin, no. We have enough trouble keeping track of _you_. Let's go see what they want, shall we?" Then I knew. This wasn't going to be good.

"-She never finished serving her detention!" Ms. Weasley shouted, and I was confused. There wasn't a punishment for running away, except if the school decided you were too much of a problem child to attend.

"She didn't break any laws! She's not a criminal!" I wanted to hug Professor Zabini, if I wasn't afraid I would melt. In meetings like this I sat quiet and still, my face an unreadable mask.

"Read the law! Subsection B-17! It's there in the print!" Ms. Weasley threw a copy of our constitution on the table in front of me.

"No. There is no such thing as B-17!" Professor Zabini yelled, before the Headmaster cut in.

"Let Ms. Warrington read it." That sick, twisted gargoyle.

"Subsection B-17: Any minor that escapes from care over five times is considered a runaway and his or her temporary family can sue the child for infringement on their happiness and can declare them a criminal for escaping care or damage to property if necessary, if they decide the said minor should be held responsible," I read subconsciously, my voice hollow. I had knocked over a vase on the way out, it was after_ the argument_. Not to mention the hole I made in the wall when _she _demanded I fix it.

"What does this have to do with Nick?" I was trying to keep from crying as Professor Zabini defended me again.

"Well, Miss Warrington could be sued on multiple occasions with this amendment. And may I remind you, Mr. Zabini, that Miss Warrington has run away nine times, which is well over the number listed in B-17. Also, the families were devastated to learn she ran away, and some went to hell and back to find her." Her voice was pleasant, but I knew the satisfaction and venom that secretly dripped from her words. I took the bait, so sue me. _Too late. . ._

"That's a load of dragon dung and you know it! They didn't give a damn, and now they just want to make a few galleons off of it!" Galleons I didn't have.

"But, _Nick_, they don't even have to sue. With this new law you could be arrested." Her expression seemed to say "like your good-for-nothing parents". What could I do with this news? I ran. It's what I always did.

I ran far, just running. It felt good, and before I knew it I was on the Quidditch pitch. Alone, at night. Where no one knew where I was. That was a smart move, Nick. I summoned my broom, and hoped Piper hadn't seen it fly out of the dormitory. I wanted to be alone, I needed to be. I circled the pitch three times, before coming to a halt in the centreer. Then I lay back against the broom, just right, as in the right position you could lay comfortably without worrying about falling out. So I just lay there, fifty feet in the air. Then I cried.

I cried, just flat out bawled. I cried about B-17, I cried about Piper, Al, and little Flynn, I cried about Mum and Dad, and I cried about running. I let everything out in huge, wracking sobs. I didn't care if anyone heard, I needed to let it out. The tears I needed to cry, that I hadn't cried since I was a first year. The ones that had come close to pouring out twice tonight.

"What the hell, Nick!" Albus pulled his broom next to mine. He had obviously seen my broom fly out of a window or something.

"Al?" I croaked, the tears still running down my face. My face was still pointed towards the stars, which meant I was still on my broom.

"It's me," Al assured me, and I immediately relaxed. "What happened?" His voice was soft, and he lay down on his broom next to me.

"It's. . . it's everything." I hated feeling so weak; I was Nick Warrington, I was not weak! "I'm not weak!" I screamed for the entire pitch to hear. "I AM NOT WEAK!"

"You're not, Nick. You're the strongest person I know. Now, what in name of Merlin happened?" He sounded angry, but not at me. It was more like he was angry at the world.

"Nothing much. I could be sued, or your cousin could arrest me if she wants. In fact she might be trying to find me to do just that," I said casually, before laughing hysterically. "Oh! I almost forgot! She also implied that it would be nice that I could finally join my "good-for-nothing" parents!" I laughed again, and nearly fell off my broom, and Albus swore under his breath.

"I'"m going to murder Dominique. Why she even works with children is beyond me," Albus assured me, while running his hand through his hair. He always did that when he was upset; it drove Piper up the wall. Speaking of Piper . . .

"Where's Piper? Is she okay?" I immediately questioned, as she was in such a state when we left.

"Yeah. She's making sure the ickle firsties are okay, I think. She's the one who saw your broom," Albus assured me, and we just sat in silence. At least I sat in silence; Al kept on trying to talk to me. I wasn't budging. Finally I felt as if I could face people again, so I just left.

"NICK!" Al sounded furious. I wasn't sure why, but I had never seen him that angry before. "Where are you going?"

"The common room. Coming?" I asked, my mask firmly back in place.

"Bloody hell. You think you can just come out here, bawl your eyes out, not tell me what's wrong, exactly, and then not respond even though I've been trying for the past half-hour?" He was upset, upset that I wouldn't talk to him.

"Look, Al," I said coldly. "This isn't something I can share with you. I just can't!" I exclaimed. I felt as if he didn't trust me to tell him when I wanted to. Then I realised, he didn't trust me either. "You don't trust me," I said, and it was a simple statement. Not an emotional outburst, not a question; a statement.

"You can share it with Flynn Avery!" Ah, I see.

"Don't go there," I said. He didn't know, only those who were shipped from place to place their entire lives knew. _Al_ grew up in a loving home, and his dad was the saviour of the wizarding world.

"Why not? You don't even know him! The only thing you two have in common is my cousin!" At this point I started walking away. "Nick! Nick! I just want to know why the hell you're so cold. You're like at the beginning of every year. Piper's terrified for you, she thinks you're going to die of starvation or freeze to death every time you run away. Nothing will change if you tell us! We've stood by you for six years! Six!" He didn't know why I wouldn't tell him. No one needed to hear that, and I'm pretty sure Piper would throw up.

"You don't know! You don't!" I yelled hysterically, my voice high. Albus had caught up, and my eyes were probably as round as saucers with scared.

"Then tell me! I want to know!" He had grabbed my wrists; he knew my first instinct was to run. I just shook my head. "It won't get better if you don't tell anyone! What do I always say, about bottling everything inside yourself?" He looked into my eyes, and his were bright with anger, but something else was there. Pity? No. Worry. In that moment I wanted to tell him, to tell him everything, even the bad parts. But we were interrupted, by a bunch of Gryffindors, third years, I guessed. But none other than Al's little sister oversaw them.

"Aw . . . has the little snake finally found a mate?" She asked, her fake sweetness sickening.

"What would you know about that, _Lils_? No boy would come near you with a ten-foot barge pole," Albus retaliated, his voice pleasant and calm. Lily didn't have a comeback to that. I was confused, though, Lily was a fourth year, right? Al and I are sixth years, and she's two years younger, I think.

"Why are you even here, Potter? No one from your year desperate enough to be mates with you?" I asked, my voice cold. Lily laughed.

"I wondered when we would get to that. I have the wonderful job of overseeing these losers as they complete their initiation. The first years were all taken, so I gave them a challenge: the notorious Nick Warrington. Lovely name, by the way. I think it would be hot, if you were a boy," She explained, and I didn't even care about the insult. Al and I were outnumbered six to one, and if a professor came we were screwed.

"You think we can take them?" I muttered to Al in my discreet Slytherin way.

"Well, third years haven't really duelled yet, but Lily's pretty good," He replied grudgingly.

"I get the idiots and you take Lily?"

"That's about it," He confirmed, and we stealthily drew our wands.

"What? The dirty snakes aren't fighting back? That's a first; I know my brother and his _temper_," Lily said, lightly placing her wand on Al's face on the word temper. Al and I made eye contact, and we were duelling. The third years were not expecting an attack from us, and Al had blasted Lily off her feet before she could register Al had his wand out. It took all of five spells to defeat them, but unfortunately the bright lights had attracted attention. We Slytherins have zero luck, it seems.

"What the devil is going on here ?" What our luck. It wasn't a professor; it was the headmaster. Who also happened to be looking for me. Just my luck.

"Nothing, headmaster," Al lied smoothly.

"Then why are there six Gryffindors lying on the ground?" He asked plainly.

"They attacked _us_. We had to defend ourselves, or it would've been _us_," I explained, though fully aware it was useless.

"Come with me. I believe Nick has some business to attend to, so Mr. Potter will have to wait outside my office," the professor decided, and Al and I shot each other looks. This was a _great_ way to start the year.


	3. Promises and Potions

**_Here it is! Chapter three, in which if you recognize something it will either belong to J.K. Rowling or Starkid (I forgot to say this earlier in the story). My apologies for the lack of updating; I lost my password and managed to get myself temporarily banned from the site by trying multiple passwords too many times. _**

"As I was saying before Ms. Warrington _ran out of the room_, she could be arrested," Ms. Weasley said with a sick and twisted smile on her face. Professor Zabini had a calming hand on my shoulder, saying he would not let them arrest me.

"That isn't right. She ran because of how horrible the places were; I would like to see you stand one day in some of them," Professor Zabini said, his voice cracking.

"Nick has never complained about any of them before. Neither have any of the other kids," Ms. Weasley "explained", the smile still plastered on her face.

"SO WHEN THEY END UP IN ST. MUNGO'S, YOU DON'T THINK THERE'S A PROBLEM?" Professor Zabini bellowed. "THEY'RE TOO BLOODY SCARED OR CONVINCED IT'S THEIR FAULT TO COMPLAIN! AND THEY DON'T TRUST YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE DO? THE SICK THINGS, THE THINGS TO GET BACK AT THE INNOCENT CHILDREN OF PEOPLE WHO MADE ONE WRONG CHOICE? IT'S HORRID!" I had never seen Professor Zabini so angry. I think Ms. Weasley almost wet herself, until she found a comeback.

"When has Nicole ever been to St. Mungo's?" She asked sweetly, obviously hoping I hadn't told him about that one time. I grimaced; I remembered that place. I had to be physically evaluated every time I ran away, and most of the time something was wrong, once I broke my leg in twenty places, but I had been there before I became a runner, but I was unconscious for most of the experience.

"She has been. She was six. Six. She was unconscious for a week, because she "fell down the stairs". So did three other future Slytherins who have been in that same home." I didn't think he knew about that.

"Not everyone is perfect, and even I admit some homes are better than others, but the good homes far outnumber the bad. Most are adopted before the age of ten. It's the... problem children. . . who ruin the statistics," she admitted, and I felt she confirmed a long held suspicion. She purposely put people like me and Flynn in the horrible homes, whereas those orphaned because their parents may or may not have been murdered by my grandparents, got the people who actually cared, the ones who didn't do it for their sadistic pleasures or for a few extra galleons.

"Maybe we wouldn't be _problem children_ if you gave us half a chance," I responded, my teeth gritted. Professor Zabini's hand was vice-like on my shoulder.

"This is beyond the point. The point is, as of now, you are on probation, Ms. Warrington. For the stunt with Mr. Potter and your current status at the Ministry. If one word reaches me you are causing trouble, on or off the Quidditch pitch you love, you will be expelled, and possibly arrested," the headmaster decreed. I was at the point of seething.

"We were provoked. Then attacked. It wasn't our fault," I said calmly, but my voice was cold.

"That isn't the matter. The matter is that six students were hexed, which is considered bullying. Bullying is not tolerated at Hogwarts, therefore there will be punishment. Ms. Weasley, sorry for wasting a perfectly good evening. I am sure Ms. Warrington is equally apologetic, but could you send in Mr. Potter on your way out?" Ms. Weasley nodded, while my vision was turning red. How can he pull the "bullying card", when we have Slytherin students hexed every day?

"Hello, headmaster," Albus greeted respectfully, and his eyes travelled to his namesakes. Professor Dumbledore had the same pleasant smile, but his eyes gave us sympathy. Professor Snape, however, looked like he wanted to kill Professor Anslem. I was flooded with happiness, because at least one Headmaster was on our side. (And he was a Slytherin)

"Mr. Potter, take a seat. As I was explaining to Ms. Warrington, as well as Professor Zabini, hexing fellow students is considered bullying, which has not, is not, and will not be tolerated here at Hogwarts," He said as if he was explaining this to a two-year-old, and I saw Albus's eyes flash with Potter rage. Professor Snape smirked, but then regained his furious expression. If I glanced back I would surely see Professor Zabini equally enraged.

"Three weeks of detention, for both of you, starting in two day's time. _Ms. Warrington_, remember the consequences could be much greater. You should be grateful," He said, and I felt like punching something. Life was so bloody unfair it was mental. For Slytherins, that is. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws can hex the 'Death Eaters' as much as they want, but when we retaliate, it's a capital offence!

"I'll escort Albus and Nicole back to their common room. I would like to speak with them," Professor Zabini said, his anger at the headmaster obvious, and I swear I saw Professor Snape smile. If that was possible, I mean.

"All right, Blaise. Mr. Potter, Ms. Warrington, I will see you on the roof tomorrow at seven o'clock sharp," Professor Anslem told us, before retreating into his private study. Professor Zabini looked at us sympathetically before gesturing towards the door. As soon as we were out of earshot he turned to us.

"I'm so sorry, Nick, there was nothing I could do. You'll just have to watch your back this year, you too, Al. If you get expelled, I'm sure that horrific woman will throw you in Azkaban. The longest you could get is three years, but Nick, you don't want to go there; it's horrible." He suddenly changed to his "all business" voice. "Al, make sure she keeps her nose clean. You keep yours clean, too. Merlin, I'm getting too old for this," Professor Zabini apologised, running his hand through his thinning hair.

He was only forty or so, around the same age as my parents. He knew them, he told me a bit about them, showed me and the other problem kids some pictures. It seemed every single problem child the Ministry has came from our small house; around eighty percent of us were affected by the arrests made five to ten years after the war.

"It's okay, Professor. I'll be fine, it was going to happen eventually," I assured him, and I knew it was the truth. I would have ended up in Azkaban sooner or later, it was inevitable. Plus, I had used up all my emotion and energy earlier in the evening. I was sick of tears.

"Don't say that, Nick. You won't go to Azkaban, I won't let that happen. And I have a feeling my father might have some strings he could pull, if I told him. But to tell him, I need the full story," Al said, realizing the gravity of my situation. Also, his Slytherin-ness at some times was astounding.

"Nicole! You haven't told him? Or Piper?" Professor Zabini asked, aghast.

"No," I mumbled, my eyes travelling once again to my trainers.

"I might not be the best at this whole "friendship thing", being an ice-cold Slytherin and whatnot, but I'm going to take a stab at this. Aren't you supposed to, I don't know, trust, your best mates?" I could really have done without Professor Zabini's sarcasm.

"Thanks, Professor. I really appreciate the faith," I replied bitterly, it had been a long day. How was it only the third day of school?

"Someone needed to say it, Nick," Al pointed out very unhelpfully.

"You just want to know. I dunno why, it's the past, there's nothing that can change that. Unless you have a time-turner handy," I said sharply, my voice still bitter.

"Smile, love, it's good for you," Albus said with a smirk, and it was times like these I questioned the reasoning behind interacting with humans.

"I know where you can stuff that smile. . ." I couldn't help but reply, a smile coming to my previously scowling face. I hated him at times like these, why couldn't he let me be immersed in my teenage angst?

"I really don't want to contemplate how painful that would be," Albus replied, and I let out a weird giggle.

" Could you two continue this utterly mental conversation when I'm not standing right next to you?" I had forgotten Professor Zabini was there.

"But, Professor," I started cheekily, "why wouldn't you want to see your sulkiest student smiling like a giddy school girl?"

"Because the girl in question's smile is demonic."

"Touché, Professor," I admitted, before my 'demonic' smile returned. "If you want, Al and I could continue our conversation in Potion's class tomorrow, sir," I loved being a Slytherin. It entitled us to be snarky and sarcastic human beings.

"I'm hurt, Nicki. I thought you loved Potions!" That was also a long-running joke. It was a known fact that I had a tendency to explode a cauldron every once in a while. Which wasn't good, as I didn't have as many galleons as I wished.

"The day Nick loves Potions is the day my dad is best mates with Voldemort!" Albus put it, and everyone couldn't help but chuckle a little at that horrendous joke.

"You know, maybe Voldemort was really just in the search of love, but couldn't find a way to express himself correctly," I mused.

"Yes, because attempting to murder Potter around ten times counts as love. Also, if Voldemort loved a one-year-old _male_, I might have had to send him to St. Mungo's," Professor Zabini added, and Al was red in the face from embarrassment.

"Oh, Allie, you know we're just jesting. We're quite lovable, really, and never say anything inappropriate," I said, flinging my arm around his shoulder.

"If you call me Allie again, I may have to hex you, _Nicole_. Did you just growl at me?" Indeed I had, as I loathed, absolutely abhorred that name. Call me Nick, Nicki if you're feeling plucky, but never Nicole.

"It's all right, Allie. We'll find you a boyfriend eventually, though I do think you and Scorpius's dad would have made a cute couple," I replied chirpily, my face split into an innocent grin. We didn't exactly hate Scorpius, (the funniest bloke alive and my cousin, I think), he was decent and he was dating the only cousin who had stuck by Al, Rose Weasley. They were our only friends outside of Slytherin. The rest of the student body were horrendous.

"Nick, shut up about Al's sexuality or he will hex you!" Professor Zabini shouted before stalking off, though his smile gave him away. Yes, Blaise Zabini could smile. The rest of the houses were convinced he was an ice-cold psychopath, therefore his smile never failed to make Al and I fall to the floor in laughter acting as though we had died. Eventually the professor left us to our childish antics, but he warned us not be 'problem children' and to run along to our dorms like, and I quote, "normal human beings!" end quote.

"It's Nick. Nothing is ever normal with her," Albus had called after him, before slinging me over his shoulder in a fireman's lift and literally carried me to our common room.

* * *

"Explain yourselves," Piper said, her voice filled with quiet rage.

"Er. . . that's rather a long story," I tried, my eyes once again on my trainers. They were quite beat up, but I loved them, and wouldn't get rid of them until Piper found out about the peeling soles.

"Explain."

"Well, I had to see the headmaster, then things got complicated, so to speak," I tried, hoping she wouldn't inquire.

"You two were out for _three hours_! Everyone was worried sick, they thought the Gryffindors captured you!" Piper exclaimed, and I felt bad. We had left her alone, and it was an hour after curfew already. She must have been terrified.

"See, that's where it gets complicated. Especially with Allie's hag of a sister. No offence, Al," I added hurriedly.

"None taken. There's much stronger words I would use, namely-" Albus started.

"Albus, no! Don't say mean words in front of the children," I yelled, covering Piper's ears. She rolled her eyes.

"I already know about-" She started, but I covered her mouth. After she bit me I released my hold. "What's this about little miss Lily?" She asked, and Al and I burst into giggles, for no apparent reason.

"Ah, my sister's a-" Al started, but I really didn't want him to call his sister that.

"Meanie. Who got us three weeks of detention. Cleaning the roof, I might add," I said bitterly, before smiling again. "Who knows? Maybe Allie will _slip and fall _off the roof to his painful and horrible death. Tragic accident, really," I said, my demonic smile back in place.

"QUIT IT WITH THE ALLIE!" He had completely missed my threat.

"As _tragic_ as that would be, that would mean a lot of paperwork for me, as I'm a Prefect. I would be forced to report this, especially with him as a Prefect as well," Piper said, feigning sympathy for me. She always pulled the "Prefect card", which is bollocks as there are three of us. _I'm the special one_ because I'm the non-Prefect.

"Nick's brooding again. Smile, love. No, don't bite me, smile," Al said, after I snapped my teeth at him menacingly.

"I will. After your _tragic_ accident, that is," I smiled mischievously, which he apparently thought shouldn't count.

"A true smile, love, not that demonic look you love." I rest my case.

"It's true, Nick," She smiled, before her scowl returning, her hands placed on her petite hips. "Wait a minute. I'm mad."

"I hoped you'd forgotten," I groaned, and Al mirrored my movements.

"Spill, or you may never wake up tomorrow, Nicole Anne Warrington," she threatened.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled, but I spilled. I told her everything, or the parts I would try to leave out, Al would jump in and I would glare. By the end I had sunk into a chair, and curled into a tight ball.

"Oh, Nick. I'm so sorry," Piper said, and sat next to me. In my chair, I might add. She looked to Al, who pulled a chair in front of me, and looked business-like.

"He's right you know. You'll have to tell us, we can't help if you don't," he said, and I met his eyes.

"I know. I just. . . I just can't. Maybe later, but not tonight. I've had enough drama for a while," and I got up and left, going to my dorm.

* * *

"What are we going to do? I'm worried, Al. She could be arrested. _Arrested_, our Nick. I know part of her wants to try to, just so she can meet her parents," Piper confided in Al, a tired look overcoming her face.

"We can't let her try. Azkaban breaks a person, even without the dementors. Could you imagine Nick after that?" Albus said determinedly.

"What if-"

"We can't think like that, Pipes. We just can't."

"I know, Al. I just can't help but wonder what makes her run. I know why she went this year, but none of the other times. I wonder about. . . the scars. I'm scared for her, Al," Piper said, resting her head on Al's shoulder, something she always did when she was upset.

"Me too, Pipes. Me too," Albus said, laying his head on hers, but Piper continued the conversation.

"I don't know what they're from. There's this one bad one, it's so thick and goes all the way up her stomach, but it's diagonal. Then there's the thin ones, the jagged ones, and the bruises that hadn't quite faded. The first two years there were a lot of them," Piper told Al, who's hand immediately tensed.

"She never told you about them? Even when she knew you saw?"

"Never. She would turn away and withdraw for a while, the first time it was an entire week before she spoke again!" She exclaimed, and Al's body tensed further.

"How did that happen? What could drive her to eating rats and sleeping outside?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

"No one knows, Al. She won't tell us, she's slowly shutting herself off. I'm so scared," she choked out, her voice cracking with raw emotion.

"We have to get her to tell us. It's the only way, Piper. I told my dad about her, and he looked concerned. He doesn't hate Slytherin like most would think he would. I think I know why; he was almost put there, but he chose Gryffindor. The hat didn't give me a choice, but I'm glad it didn't. Slytherin needed us, the three of us," he said forcefully, before his voice softened. "We're quite the team, aren't we?" He asked himself, chuckling to himself at the end.

"Couldn't he keep her from being arrested then?" Piper asked, sitting up straight, her eyes filled with hope.

"He could get Aunt 'Mione to defend her, maybe, but they couldn't make the case unless they knew the truth," Albus admitted, the outside world was not as harsh as Hogwarts to Slytherins. The war heroes knew the value of unity, and would probably be disgusted to learn of the prejudice at Hogwarts.

"She needs to tell us, Al. If she doesn't, it'll consume her," she said, and put her head back on Al's shoulder. They just sat there for a while, and eventually they fell asleep.

* * *

"Ugh. I don't wanna get up!" I moaned to no one in particular. My alarm had gone off, and I expected Piper to be her perky morning-loving self, singing into her toothbrush as she danced around the dorm. Piper's bed was still made; she hadn't been to the dorm at all. So I stumbled down to the common room, my hair probably a wonderful mess and my glasses askew. When I got there I saw her leaned against Al, who was awake and ruffling his hair nervously. He saw me and smiled sleepily.

"She fell asleep on top of me and I didn't want to move her," he explained, and I smiled. It would be cute if they got together. They're both sweet with a fiery side.

"Well, I'm gonna go get ready. I'll wake her up, this will be payment for every time she's waken me up with the Groaning Goblins or whatever band she's infatuated with at the moment," I said, grinning mischievously, before moving so my face was right by there.

"BRRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGG!" I trilled, amplifying my voice with a simple spell. I probably woke the entire house.

"AHHHHH!" Was the reply, and I was positive I did wake the entire house. I smiled and skipped up the stairs to my dorm. "NIIIICCKKKK!" Piper chased after me, but I was prepared for her. She assumed I was hiding in the bathroom, and when she entered I squirted her with my toothpaste. It was magical toothpaste, and it was spearmint flavoured and changed colours while you brushed.

"Why hello, Piper? How are you this sparkly morning?" I asked. Piper admitted defeat and rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower. You probably should as well, you smell like the Quidditch Pitch," she said in an exasperated manner, trying to get the foamy, colourful bubbles off of her robes. It wasn't working. She crinkled her nose at my scruffy appearance; an old, baggy t-shirt and baggy yet kind of short pair of her old muggle running shorts was a wonderful look for me. I swear it. _Oh look! Hell just got an ice-skating rink!_

"Fine. I call stall five!" I yelled, as we both had an unhealthy obsession with that shower stall. I always had to use that one, it had funny and inappropriate things written all over it. I loved Slytherins; they had some of the worst potty-mouths ever.

"Ugh. That stall is so disgusting," she complained, but she was smiling. So we readied ourselves and headed down the the Great Hall, plopping down next to Al.

"Hey, Pot-head! What's shaking, bacon?" Al dropped the piece of bacon that was making its way to his mouth.

"Pot-head? Really, Nick?" He suddenly smiled. "What's with the pep? You looked like you were about to die from exhaustion around twenty minutes ago!" I grinned like a small child and reached for the coffee.

"NO! We have Potions, and unfortunately, Professor Zabini thinks pairing you with me will raise your grade!" I continued grinning, and poured myself a cup of the life-saving liquid. "Professor Zabini's going to _murder_ me," he said, banging his head into the table.

That's how my morning started.

* * *

"MERLIN!" I shouted, looking at the bubbly purple liquid in front of me, before enveloping Albus into a giant hug. "I love you! I love you! I love you! We did it right!" Albus coughed, and I huffed. "Fine. You did it right," I said dejectedly, while the rest of the class stared at us. Ah, the glaring abilities of the Hufflepuffs.

"I know you love me, but you're scaring the Hufflepuffs, love ," he confirmed, and the fifteen students around us continued to stare. I was chipper, so I smiled at them. One looked at the point of hexing me.

"Seriously?" I asked the boy, feeling reckless and bold. "Please say whatever it is you want to say," I said, looking at him.

"You're a cheater. A lying, good-for-nothing cheater who should be locked up, like the rest of the Slytherins. You're all evil, and nothing good comes from disgusting snakes," the child said, and I fought the urge to laugh. That was taking this WAY over extreme. It was almost clichéd.

"Insult me when your house isn't known as a bunch of duffers. Mean duffers, I'll give you that, but trusting? Really? You're not brave, or smart, and certainly not as brilliant as we Slytherins! Seriously, what the hell are you guys? _Hufflepuff_? Even the name sounds like a load of fluff! I don't even know what you're traits are supposed to be! It sure as hell isn't kind or caring!" Al gave me a discreet high-five under the table while laughing at the last bit, and Professor Zabini coughed to hide _his_ laughter. He shot me a warning look, though, before walking over.

"Mr. Stebbins, please refrain from insulting other students. Ten points from Hufflepuff," he said calmly, while I turned pale. Stebbins, I knew that kid. He smiled evilly, and I looked at Al, who met my eyes.

"No one wants you. Just go away and never come back, you ugly bint. Couldn't you take the hint when my parents got sick of you leeching off of us?" They almost DROWN me.

"Er. . . class dismissed. Mr. Stebbins, I would like to speak with you for a moment," Professor Zabini intervened. He sent me a look; it clearly stated "Do NOT retaliate. I WILL handle this." I forgot that if I retaliate I could be sent to Azkaban.

"Al, this could be a potentially problematic situation," I said in all seriousness, after we had left the dungeons.

"What is this _national disaster_, Nick?" He answered sarcastically, sounding oddly like Professor Zabini.

"I can't hex anyone!" I exclaimed, and he laughed.

"We wondered when you'd figure it out," Al said, as Piper managed to contain her giggles.

"I bet on a day, whereas Al has no faith in your logistic ability. He bet a week, so I guess he owes me five galleons," Piper explained, with a giddy smile plastered on her face.

"Piper!" Al whined. I'm not joking, he _whined_. "Fine," he said grudgingly, and put five gold coins into Piper's outstretched hand. We made our way up to the Great Hall for lunch, smiling and laughing. We Slytherins could have fun, well, as long as they don't interfere with our world-domination plans.

"My potion was not _that _bad," Piper argued, and I snorted, as did Al.

"Because it was supposed to be grey and lumpy," he said, and I thought back to our perfect purple potion.

"Nick would never have passed if it weren't for you! I got stuck with that pathetic excuse for a human being, Stebbins or Stubbins, or whatever. He seemed more focused on glaring at you and insulting me to work on his part of the potion."

"Better luck next time, Pipes. At least Nick wasn't your partner," Al reasoned, and I remembered last year. We had exploded our cauldron, and sprayed the entire class with UFS, or Unidentifiable Fuchsia Substance. We were special, Piper and I. Yet I still felt the need to defend myself.

"In my defence-" I started, before Al cut me off.

"NOOOOOO!" We were loons, the three of us.

"-I thought adding a firework would have made the class interesting," I said, crossing my arms.

"Great defence, Nick," Al said, rolling his eyes. So of course I tackled him and Piper, and we managed to push through the doors and landed in a heap in the Great Hall. We were still laughing like utter loons, by the way.

"OI! We're_ trying_ to get through, so if you could please take your freak show elsewhere. . ." Wonderful. The third 'Potter encounter' in less than twenty-four hours. I only liked a third of them, and that's because, well, he's Albus.

James Potter, everyone. Quidditch captain (and filthy cheater), resident playboy (once Al and I stole his hair potion, it was bloody hilarious), and hater of snakes everywhere. Couldn't you tell we were mates?

"Nah, don't think we can, big bro," Al replied, his face still smiling, as his siblings hated being recognized as his siblings.

"Move already, snakes. Go back to your lair or whatever," he retorted, and I faked hurt.

"Ouch, how am I ever going to recover?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Until I saw Professor Longbottom approaching. "Oops. . . gotta go. Toodle-pip!" I squeaked before turning around and walking away very inconspicuously.

"Ms. Warrington!" Damn.

"Hello, professor. I just have to go, ya know? Places to go, people to see-"

"Children's souls to devour?" James asked, knowing he had won. Albus looked at the point of smacking him. They had been really close before Albus came to Hogwarts.

"Yes. They were very tasty, thank you," I said pleasantly, not letting him get a rise out of me.

"OI!" We had forgotten Professor Longbottom was here. "What is going on here? James?" He asked, looking quite cross.

"I was just trying to enter the Great Hall, but they were lying on the floor, not letting anyone pass!" He said exasperatedly, and I knew why people fancied him. He was smoking, but I knew he was evil behind all that, well, smokiness.

"We fell," Piper explained as well, and looked her father in the eye. This had 'AWKWARD' branded all over it. Father vs. daughter.

"Fine. If I hear any of you lot are causing trouble. . ." Professor Longbottom let his threat hang in the air. We nodded and headed to our respective tables. Everyone at the Slytherin was smiling. We exchanged some _very subtle_ high-fives.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Flynn Avery exclaimed, before meeting my eye with a serious expression. He wanted to talk. _Great_. Why am I so sarcastic and angst-ful as of late?

"Er, I forgot something in my dorm," I said, excusing myself. Flynn took the hint and waited a few minutes before excusing himself as well. We met in the common room, and I was making colourful bubbles float around the common room while waiting for him. When he entered he ran smack-dab into the gigantic one. It was the size of a small child, so he was coughing on the bubbly substance that had encased him. Did I mention they were unbreakable?

"Getmeoutofhere!" He screamed, though it was muffled. I rolled my eyes and banished the bubble. He sighed in relief and took a seat next to me.

"Whateth does thou need to consulteth with the almighty Nicketh about this den?" I asked, using my best Shakespearean accent.

"Er. . . what?" He asked, obviously confused.

"What. Do. You. Need. To. Talk. To. Me. About."

"I'm not stupid!" He exclaimed, offended.

"Your idiocy is beyond the point right now. I have a wonderful sandwich waiting in the Great Hall for me, so what was so urgent you needed to address it at this very moment?"

"I, er, wanted to, er, know, er, about, you know, the, er, stuff," He said, and I knew what he wanted to talk about.

"Where were you last year?" I asked, as I had been to quite a few.

"The Boots," he said, and I cringed. Terry Boot was really quite brilliant, but his parents? .

"What did they do?" I asked, suddenly feeling protective of this kid.

"You know the basement?" He asked nervously, and I nodded slowly. I had to spend the night in the basement more than a few times, and it was cold and really scary. What awaited you outside of the basement was worse.

"Yeah," I said, my eyes shifting. I had been locked down there once for three days straight.

"And what happens after?" He asked, and I confirmed it with a nod. Work came after the basement; hard, backbreaking work. Pass-out-from-exhaustion work.

"My mate, he, he. . ." Flynn couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. I was terrified; I had gotten really sick there after I had, er, _lost my temper_ once.

"What?" I asked, my voice quite yet forceful. Tears started pouring down his face.

"He beat up their grandkid's Muggle bike or something, and they locked him there for a week. A week, a whole week. Then, they had him up on the roof, working. Terry came home, and he was furious. So furious at his parents, but he hadn't realized my mate been up there all day. My mate. . . he. . . he fell off after fainting from exhaustion, there was nothing anyone could do," I put a hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face.

"I'm so sorry, Flynn," I said, and I hugged the smaller boy. Cool eleven-year-old or not, he needed it.

"They weren't even arrested! No one cared, and that's when I ran. It's horrible, Nick, even worse than staying. So hungry, I was so hungry," He choked out through the tears, and my tears thickened. It was horrible, I knew that, but it was worth it for me.

"I know, Flynn, I know," I said comfortingly, aware his tears were all over my jumper.

"How do you do it?" He asked, his huge, watery blue eyes staring at me.

"I really dunno, Flynn. Must be that Slytherin determination," I said, and I brought his head onto my shoulder. It's what my mates did when they were upset, so I guessed it made people feel better.

"I'm scared, Nick," he said, and I knew the façade he had up for so long had come crumbling down.

"It'll be okay. Trust me, it'll be all right in the end," I promised, though I couldn't guarantee it. Hey, I could be arrested! Happy ending, right?

"How do you know? It'll be another home, then another, and what if all of them are bad? Some are okay, I guess, but they're not my family. They're in Azkaban, and I'll never get to see them. But what if they're all bad, Nick? What do I do? I don't think I could run again, it was so horrible," He sobbed into my shirt, and I withheld a sigh. Life was so bloody hard sometimes.

"You're a Slytherin. That means you're tough. It'll be all right, trust me," I said, but then my stomach rumbled. He sat straight up and away from me.

"I'm sorry!" He squeaked, before trying to run.

"Not so fast," I said, and he froze. "I'm telling the truth. It _will_ work out all right in the end, I promise, and it's okay to let your emotions loose every once in a while; it's not good to keep it all bottled up inside," I said with a faint trace of a smile. He nodded, and I cleaned up my few tears and went back to the hall. I was sick of drama; maybe I should have been a Hufflepuff. Better to be an old duffer than to deal with depressed eleven-year-old boys.


	4. The Plan

"Bubbles!" Piper shouted gleefully, holding my bloody brilliant toothpaste above my head. It was a random gift from Al, and it was special, so I naturally wanted it back. I was rather short, you see, and Piper had a few inches on me. I did the natural thing to save my toothpaste; I tackled her.

"My bubbles!" I shouted, grabbing them and running to the sink.

"No! My bubbles!" she screamed, trying to grab the tube. I wouldn't let her, and I (surprisingly) won the battle. So Piper sulked while I inspected my face and hair in the mirror. My brown hair was dark and straight, as per usual, and it matched my almost-black eyes. Not like I was blond or genetically gifted in _certain_ areas, unlike my best friend. In fact, I was rather lacking. My hair was limp but thick and I wasn't naturally thin or petite like Piper. Despite how many times I ran away, which believe me, you lose a few pounds, I would never be able to wear a one of those Muggle swimming suit things. What are they called? Bikinis?

"Hm. .. what to do with the dead rat on my head. . ." I thought aloud. Piper frowned.

"When have you ever done anything besides not care?" Piper asked, while in the middle of plaiting the second half of her hair. I grinned and threw it up in a bun, and we headed off to breakfast. We weren't the type for make-up, as there were Weasley's product that rid us of our worst puberty-induced blemishes. We laughed all the way to the Great Hall, imitating the girls who thought dressing questionably made them pretty or whatever it is they want. Desirable, maybe? Basically, we were (very intelligently) mocking the Gryffindors.

"NO! That's _my _hair potion!" I yelled, making my voice sound nasally as Piper chased me.

"I don't care! It was in _my _morning kit!" she shouted, before jumping on my back and 'clawing' at my hair. We stumbled into the Great Hall, and everyone stared at us like we were mental _and _beneath them. Normally we are greeted with just the latter. So to honour the occasion I put on a heavy English accent.

"What? We're not barking, we just have personality issues!" I announced as I carried Piper all the way to the Slytherin table before dumping her unceremoniously into Albus's lap.

"OI!" Al shouted, as I happily grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it. I grinned my small child grin, and he let the matter go. "Would you two like to explain why you're mental this fine morning?" I tried to look offended, then giggled and muttered toothpaste as Al tried to raise one eyebrow at me. He looked like he was constipated, which I kindly pointed out.

"That's not nice," he reprimanded, waggling his finger at me. So I bit him; I didn't like having anything within a certain area of me, especially when a finger could easily transform into a punch. It was instinct. He yelped and punched me, (I was right!) causing me to jump and sending my juice all over Piper, who kindly smacked us both upside the head. "SHE BLOODY BIT ME!"

"And you punched her," Piper reminded him.

"So?"

"You punched her!" she shouted, and I sent a roll at Al's head. It may or may not have had jam on it. Suddenly someone smacked all three of us. It was our friend and intra-house-secretly-elected-Head-Girl, Alyssa Montague. She's a seventh year, and that was her way of telling us we were making a scene. We mumbled apologies, and she smiled gratefully before turning away. We were sixth years, we were supposed to be on the mature end of the spectrum.

"We have double Herbology today," Al said, and Piper smiled. "With the Gryffindors," he finished, and we both groaned. "Then DADA with the 'claws and Transfiguration with the 'puffs after lunch. Don't forget about detention, Nicki," he continued, and I groaned again whilst he smiled.

"Look at the sky, funny boy," I grumbled, and he groaned as well. Detention on the roof during a thunderstorm sounded like fun.

"My thoughts exactly," I said, taking care to clap in on the back extra hard, as he was drinking his pumpkin juice.

"Nick!" Piper exclaimed and I did my best to look ashamed. I believe I failed miserably. "I mean it, Nick. You're too violent," she reprimanded, and Al snorted. "You too, Mr. Hit-A-Lot!" He giggled. Literally. He didn't stop for at least fifteen seconds.

"No," I warned.

"Come again?"

"If it makes you giggle like an absolute girl for more than fifteen seconds, assume you cannot do it," I explained. I swear, having no male mates besides Scorpius must have affected him severely. That is if the situation warrants that Scorpius counts as a male.

"I agree," Piper said, shooting her hand in the air. The rest of our house followed suit, and I crossed my arms, looking quite smug, I must say.

"Killjoys," Al muttered before sulking. I responded by grabbing his face with my pals. I pushed his lips into a smile with my palms, making him look like a very mad court jester, as he was smiling because of my force. In retaliation he pushed me off the bench.

"You lot need to grow up," Alyssa muttered under her breath. "OI! Get out of here!" she exclaimed, as I had added butter to Al's already jammed head. "I have half a mind to give you lot detentions!" Needless to say we scampered. Piper made me clean Al's hair with a spell, but I accidentally turned his hair pink.

"Nick," she said threateningly.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" I defended myself before smiling and twirling my wand. "It was that pesky wand, I tell you. . ."

"Change it back. Now," Piper said, looking like a mother. I couldn't say my mother, as I had never really met her.

"Take all the fun out of life why don't you," I muttered sulkily, before waving my wand once and removing the pink color and the various breakfast spreads in one swoop. "Good girl," she said before leading us to the greenhouses.

"Told you we shouldn't have given her caffeine. . ." Al said, and I smacked him. Ah, the effects of coffee.

* * *

"Today we will be reviewing Butobers. Please collect the pus, no, don't partner up. I will be pairing you off," Piper's dad started, and I groaned, though I was hoping I got to work with Scorpius. He would have fun flinging the undiluted pus at the evil Gryffindors. He would have been fun to have in Slytherin, as he was one of the few who didn't hate us because most of his family was from the house of green. "Rose and Albus, Piper and Layla, Ronnie and Norm,-" Professor Longbottom listed for a few more pairs. "-and that leaves Scorpius and Nick," he said, and I almost shouted with glee. Except that Piper was stuck with Layla Wood. I shot her a sympathetic look, where she sent me a 'hex her PLEASE' look.

"Howdy, partner," I said, moving by Scorpius and Rose. She was catching up with Al, so we let them be.

"How's my favorite cousin doing?" he asked, pulling me in a headlock, and I resisted a wince. We were fourth or fifth cousins because of those silly Blacks and their interbreeding.

"Just dandy," I replied, but he wasn't convinced.

"Tell me," he whined, and I pretended to contemplate the matter before messing up his blond hair. He hated when I did that, and his blue eyes looked hurt. "I'm hurt, Colie," he answered, and I almost pushed him into the Venomous Tentactula behind me. He loved making up random nicknames that I hated.

"Long story," I said, eying the other Gryffindors suspiciously.

"How was your summer? They treat you right?" he asked, his eyebrow arched. He could actually accomplish the feat, whereas Al never would be able to. I turned my face to the plant and started to prepare the plant for the extraction of the puss. "Nick-" he warned.

"Let it go already!" I said irritably, and he knew not to mess with me when I had so many dangerous plants at my disposal. At least that's what I would like to think.

"Touchy, I get it," he said, but I saw him shoot a look at Al. Al got the message, and I saw Rose look over by us. She was all right, I guess, but I preferred Piper. Sure, Rose had the bright blue eyes and beautiful red hair, but that girl had a temper. Believe me, I speak from experience.

"Let's just get this over with," I said, still not meeting his eye. He tickled me and smiled.

"Wanna fling some of this over at Wood?" he asked, gesturing to the pus. I nodded, smiling evilly, and he seemed to relax. She was obviously insulting Piper, whose face was turning redder and redder as she tried to focus on the plant. She loved Herbology, it came with being a Longbottom. Piper was trying to ignore the girl, who had lightly tugged on one of Piper's plaits to try to get a rouse out of her while continuing with her inappropriate comments.

"One. . ."

"Two. . . "

"THREE!" And Scorpius flung some pus at her. It hit, and her face erupted in hideous boils. I had hesitated; I couldn't get detention. "Why didn't you throw it?" I mumbled something incoherent.

"Murmuring treacle tart, wand, and a word I care not to repeat does not count as an answer, Nick," he warned, and I hadn't realised exactly what it was I had mumbled.

"Fine. If I get in any more trouble, I'll probably be expelled," I said, and Scorpius's face drained itself of color. "Then arrested."

"Nick!" he exclaimed, but I was shut down. I had retreated back into my shell, like I always did when I told someone something they don't need to know.

"Detention, Mr. Malfoy, and please refrain from intentionally harming the other students. Ms. Wood, please go visit Mister Thomas; he will sort you out," The professor said wearily, and Scorpius swore under is breath.

After that, we worked in silence, but I knew they were all talking about me. Maybe not with words, but with glances and expressions. It was annoying, but I chose to ignore it today. I kept my head down, while Scorpius tried everything to get me to talk to him. "Niiiiccckkkkiiiii! If you don't talk to me, I'll take out your precious hair tie. . ." Scorpius whined, and I stood straight up, but didn't say a word.

"Just talk to the bloke! He's driving the rest of us bloody insane!" I think that was from the Gryffindor, Ronald or Ronnie or whatever.

"He's right you know. You know you can't resist my Malfoy charm," he said with a smirk, and I raised my pus-covered glove up threateningly. "That doesn't scare me and you know it. Just tell me, Nick. I'll find out eventually, whether it be from you or from when Al comes to Rose for advice regarding your stubbornness," Malfoy pointed out. I put down the glove and turned to him.

"You and I both know that was a bluff," I said before turning back around.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Scorpius said, like was regretting something. He looked around, and he saw Piper's dad had his back turned to us. "Silencio," he cast, and I couldn't say a word. Scorpius nodded to Albus, who pinned me down so I wouldn't try to resist Scorpius with force, as I saw the smarmy Gryffindor stole my wand. Then he. . . he. . . he took my hair out. I hated when people did that. It's one of my MAJOR pet peeves. Good thing I knew how to bite people.

"She bit me. Again," Albus said bitterly, and I started smiling. They took off the charm, but Al was still sitting on my chest on the floor of the greenhouse.

"Scorpius?" I asked sweetly, and he looked absolutely terrified. Piper was laughing on the other side of the greenhouse, and I could have hexed her. "I'm going to kill you," I said in the same cheerful manner.

"Run for it!" Rose warned and Scorpius scampered. Some Gryffindor he was.

"Would you mind getting off my chest?" I asked irritably, but Al didn't budge. "Al! Gerroff!" I protested, but Al had silenced me again. I started screaming and swearing, but Al didn't move a muscle.

"Tell me," he said, and I felt like hexing him. Only he would do this. I shook my head, and he put more weight on my chest. Being the fit Quidditch bloke he was, he weighed a lot. I knew if he kept it up he would put his entire weight on my chest, which could be quite painful. Great mate, eh? "Tell me," he ordered a little more forcefully. I shook my head, and he put more weight on me. I was scared, Albus wasn't supposed to do this. We kept on like that, but Al wouldn't relent.

"She's not going to tell you! You're hurting her!" Rose said hysterically, but I put on my mask. They wouldn't see, no one would. Al got off, and I turned on my side, clutching my ribs for just a second. They were still sore.

"How else am I supposed to bloody get her to tell me? Even if we find something out, she won't bloody tell us about it!" Al asked Rose, pacing and running his hand through his hair. It was a miracle Professor Longbottom hadn't come over.

"Stop it!" she said as I stood up, trying to regain my breath. Piper had looked over and heard all of this, and she made an excuse to come over.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on over here?" she whisper-yelled, as to not alert the professor. I tried to talk but couldn't, until she took off the charm.

"He bloody almost suffocated me!" I whisper-yelled right back.

"Al-" she said, arching an eyebrow before he cut her off. It seemed everyone but Al could do that.

"I was trying to get her to bloody tell us!" She smacked him. I snickered.

"You realize she won't now, don't you, you eejit?" Al's face slipped from angry to sad. I gave him a questioning look before realizing something.

"Scorpius."

"He's hiding behind those plants, remember?" Al said, trying to put his arm around me.

"Don't touch me."

"Nick-" Piper warned, but I didn't feel the least bit ashamed.

"Scorpius. He took my bloody hair ties," I growled, but Piper squealed.

"It looks so cute!" she said, and with a flick of her wand she side-parted my hair. I felt uncomfortable.

"Accio Nick's hair ties!" I cast, and Scorpius swore. Within a few seconds everything was back to the way it was. Sort of.

"Scorpius? You can come out now. Al is now at the top of my hit list, so you are safe," I said gravely, but Scorpius came running like a little girl and hugged me then kissed Rose full on the lips.

"Let's get back to our Butobers, please," Professor Longbottom droned, and we reluctantly separated.

"Psst! Scorpius!" I whispered over our Butober.

"We're standing right next each other, Nick," he answered, rolling his eyes.

"But I have a favor to ask!" I whined. I admit to it, I sounded like a stupid teenage girl.

"What, Nick?" Scorpius asked, obviously irritated. I took an involuntary step back.

"Iwasjustwonderingifyoucouldp eltAlwithsomepusforme," I mumbled, ashamed.

"Sorry, Nick," he apologized, but I still felt bad. I was too touchy; I was like a time-bomb waiting to explode.

"I'm sorry, too," I said, looking at my trainers again. I looked up when I heard a yell of pain. Al was covered in the pus. I smiled at Scorpius, who smiled.

"You need some new trainers, love."

I love Scorpius.

* * *

After Herbology I got through the rest of my classes without trouble. Al was out of the Hospital Wing, but I still felt guilty. I sat in the back of class and didn't talk, partly because of my guilt and partly because I hadn't been able to sleep last night. I dozed off in a few classes, while effectively avoiding Al as well as Piper, and I sat by Alyssa and Flynn in the Great Hall that night, until I remembered I had detention. With Albus. This was going to be bloody fantastic. Did I mention it was raining?

* * *

"For the next three weeks you will be cleaning the roof of the castle. Without magic, I'm afraid. I will cast charms to ensure your safety as well as health, in this weather. Good luck," the caretaker, Mr. Goyle, informed Al and me. He looked apologetic, and I knew this was because he was a former Slytherin as well. The caretaker left us with the cleaning equipment and the rain. Lucky us. I took off at a run, trying to distance myself from Al. The roof was quite large, and I had room to attempt this.

"What the hell, Nick!" Al called after me, and I looked back. In the time I did I managed to slip on the roof, and slid down it before falling off. I went hurling towards the ground, and I was pretty sure I was screaming some inappropriate words. The ground came hurtling towards me, but at the last second I bounced back up as though attached to an invisible string. I landed hard on the roof, right next to Al.

"Nick!" he shouted (very angrily) while I looked shocked, before I started to grin. I had effectively angered him.

"What?" I asked innocently, as Al ran his hand through his hair (as he always did when he thought the world would end) before turning around. In the time he did that I got up and sprinted off the edge of the roof. The same thing happened again.

"NICK!" he shouted again, and I grinned at him toothily.

"This is bloody brilliant. You should try it-"

"You could have bloody offed it right there! You could have _died_, Nick!" he shouted, and I turned to run again. "NO! You are_ not _doing that again!"

"You can't tell me what to do, Albus Potter," I growled. He grabbed my arm. I felt a sense of déjå vu, and I couldn't repress a wince.

"Are you all right?" he asked immediately, but I pulled away and didn't answer. Al ran his hand through his hair again (this time a little less frantically) before sighing. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I was out of line." He looked tired, and I couldn't help but feel my anger fade. I could never stay mad at him. He was Al Potter, my best mate.

"Fine. I'll tell you everything eventually, I'm just not ready yet. Can you possible wait a little longer?" I relented, and Al nodded, though he looked grim. I decided I needed to change that. "Then we are now officially best mates again," I said seriously before smiling. "But on one condition. You have to jump."

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" he yelled before grabbing my hand and yanking me off the side of the roof. When we sped towards the ground I saw a blur that was probably a person before zooming right back up.

"Bloody. . . brilliant," I managed to choke out through my laughter. Al and I were laughing so hard we were unable to stand. The fact our limbs were elaborately tangled probably did not help the matter.

"What in the name of Merlin are you lot doing?" It was Professor Chang. She taught Transfiguration, and like most of the professors she was a war hero. She was fair, which was more than we could ask for. Harsh, yes, but fair. "You are supposed to be serving detention, not jumping off the school. Do I honestly need to babysit sixth years? Nick, you need to behave yourself." She shot me a knowing look, and I blushed. Did everyone know? I was scared, if she told. . . this could be the end of me.

"I won't inform the headmaster of this incident," she continued, and let out a sigh of relief, "but you need to be more careful. I will oversee the remainder of this detention, and another professor will take my place every night for the next three weeks. Therefore no more. . . shenanigans . . . will ensue." Al and I nodded before going to work.

* * *

"I'm going to bloody murder that bloody woman someday," Al muttered as we exited the roof. We were sore from the hard labor, and were having a conversation in which we abused most of the Hogwarts professors. It was so unfair; we had three weeks' worth of detention for a minor infraction. A Gryffindor would have received, at most, a few days' detention for the stunt. Even then they would probably only write lines or maybe clean the trophy room. So not only were Slytherin detentions longer, they were also harder. I was sick of it.

"You know, we need to do something about this," I decided, looking Al in the eye.

"About what?" he asked, but looked intrigued nonetheless.

"Everything. We need to show the others that we are not their personal hexing dummies. We need to prove we are the best," I said, a determined (and probably slightly manic) glint in my eye.

"How?" he asked immediately.

"Something big. . ." I started before an idea came to me. "We need to win the Quidditch Cup. And the House Cup." I looked him square in the eye. It would have been intense and dramatic had Albus not burst out laughing.

* * *

"OI! Listen up!" Al called, standing on a conjured podium that put him a few feet above the rest of us. We were in the common room, having called a 'family meeting'.

"What's going on, Al?" Alyssa asked, standing next to him. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Something is horribly wrong," Al said gravely, before looking at our house. "We are a disgrace. We sit here and mope, letting the other houses terrorize and control us, when we should be the ones controlling them. We are smart, charming, cunning, sly, and determined. We should be the predator, not the prey. Something needs to be done. We need to show the other houses just how tough Slytherin is. Why we _deserve_ to be here. That we are not filth to be avoided at all costs. We need to prove our house is the best. It's the only way we can restore our house's pride."

"How do you plan to do this, Al?" Alyssa asked sceptically, although I saw a trace of hope in her eyes.

"We need to win the House Cup." The uproar was instantaneous. People were torn between laughing and screaming. They didn't think we could do it. I climbed up next to them. I wasn't normally an inspirational speaker, but I _wanted_ to win this more than anything.

"OI!" I yelled, and everyone silenced. "It isn't impossible. We _can_ do it. All we need to do is keep our noses clean, do well in lessons, and win the Quidditch cup. Something our amazing Captain here will ensure we do," I said, putting my had on Al's shoulder.

"We're outnumbered! We have no chance!"

"So? We always say in here that we are ten times better than the other houses!" I pointed out to everyone, before looking each person in the eye dramatically. "So prove it. Prove we aren't a bunch of puppies who will run away with their tails in between their legs. Prove that you belong here; that you are tough enough to be a Slytherin. The house cup has spent far too much time in Professor Longbottom's office," I challenged, and Al and Alyssa looked surprised at my skill.

"Slytherins are the best. We aren't brash and idiotic like the Gryffindors, we aren't cocky like the Ravenclaws, and we are as sure as hell are _not_ Hufflepuffs. Time to show them who's really in charge," Al added, and by now everyone was grinning. Alyssa looked mildly impressed; Al and I could be persuasive when we wanted to.

"So? Are you lot in or are you out?" Alyssa questioned, her voice slightly threatening.

"I'm in," Piper said, smiling at Al and I. She took a step forward.

"Me, too," Flynn added, standing to join Piper. Before long, though it was slightly cliché, everyone was standing with them.

"That's settled. Now we need a game plan. Tryouts for Quidditch are tomorrow, and we are looking for a two Chasers and a Keeper," Al announced, and we set to work. This plan would probably fail, but one thing was indefinite.

Slytherin was not going down without a fight.


	5. Impromptu Defiance and Quidditch Tryouts

"Nick!"

_Too. . . tired._

"Nick!"

_I don't wanna get up!_

"Nicole Anne Warrington get your lazy arse out of bed this second or I _will_ get Al," Piper threatened, and I rolled out of bed. Al liked using '_Aguamenti_' to wake me up. I, however, hated it.

"What time is it?" I asked, stumbling around the room looking for my uniform.

"Around fifteen minutes before Charms."

"Holy Merlin!" I shouted, and doubled my pace while Piper laughed hysterically. I managed to get ready in a record time of five minutes. I looked beautiful, I can assure you.

"Let's go! I have a muffin you can eat on the way." Piper said, still laughing, as we sprinted out of the common room. We arrived at Charms around a minute before Professor Creevey entered the room. I had taken my seat next to some random Hufflepuff, as did Piper to a Ravenclaw. Professor Creevey hated we Slytherins, therefore he put us next to the people we generally attempted to hex. This year, I didn't even know the poor bloke's name.

"Why hello, good sir," I greeted happily, causing the Hufflepuff to look alarmed. We'd already had this class a few times over the first two weeks of school, but we never talked. I occasionally glared at him, and him at me, but nothing more.

"Hello. . . er, what's your name again?" he replied, and I was even more surprised. He wasn't being rude. That was a start. I decided to mess with him, however.

"Jorgle."

"Come again?" he asked, confused.

"My name is Jorgle."

"No it isn't," he said confusedly, before smiling. It wasn't the normal "I'm-scared-so-I'll-go-with-it Hufflepuff" smile, either. It was demonic. Like a Slytherin smile. "Because _my_name is Jorgle, and only _I_ have the ability to wield that brilliant name," he countered. I knew we would reach a stalemate, and I had grown tired of the game.

"Name on three?" I asked sceptically, and he nodded, smiling. I counted off. . .

"Nick."

"Owen. . . and I just out-cunninged a Slytherin!" he shouted, standing up onto our desk. I scowled and punched him lightly in the shin.

"Mr. Dalton, I would advise you to keep your voice down and please step down from the table," Professor Creevey said dryly as he made his way to the front. He then started the lesson on some charm or another. I sat there with Owen Dalton, it seemed, playing magical hangman and watching him doodle in the margins of his notes. He was quite good; my favourite had to have been the animated one where Professor Creevey got pummelled by a flower over and over.

"Twenty points from Slytherin!" Professor Creevey called, and my head snapped up. "Please pay attention in the future, Ms. Warrington." Prick.

"What in the name of Merlin did you do to make him hate you?" Owen whispered and I shrugged, starting to take notes. I probably needed to, seeing as though I had barely scraped into N.E.W.T. Charms as it was. Owen continued doodling, but I saw his mates sending him dark looks. He was 'consorting with the Slytherin'. The bloke would probably get hexed later.

"Now, please practice the charm we just learned. The incantation is '_Avis_'."

"Er. . . what's that one again?" Owen asked me, looking sheepish. He was average-looking; brown hair, brown eyes, the works, I noted.

"It's supposed to conjure birds or something of the sort," I replied, taking my wand out. No one succeeded in conjuring so much as a feather until the last few minutes. Owen had waved his wand, and there was a loud blast like a cannon. Suddenly five yellow birds were flying around the room, and Professor Creevey clapped.

"Twenty points to Hufflepuff!" he said cheerfully, and a second later the same result came from Piper's wand. He blatantly ignored this fact and Piper scowled. She almost always finished first or second, but Professor Creevey never awarded her points. Therefore Professor Zabini randomly gives Slytherin a point or two every few hours, knowing we should have earned much more in the same time space.

"You know what? Ten points to Slytherin!" Al declared, standing up. He was very defensive of Piper. My opinion is that he either thinks a) Piper is too fragile, or b) the girl is too nice and lets everyone walk over her. There is an option c, but both of them would hex me if I ever so much as suggested it.

"Mr. Potter," the professor started with a bored voice, "may I remind you that Prefects are not allowed to give or take away points. But for _your_ disrespect and disruption of my class, I will take five points from Slytherin. Be thankful it is not a detention."

"No," Al said, defiance radiating from him. He was still standing, and the professor's face started to turn red. Al didn't waver, and his green eyes blazed with fury. It was mildly terrifying to most of our class, but I'd seen worse.

"What was that, Mr. Potter?" he asked, and Al repeated what he said before. "Mr. Potter! Detention!"

"No," Al said simply, as Professor Creevey's face turned purple with suppressed rage.

"A week, then."

"No," Al repeated. It wasn't immature, but more like an adult being patient with a child who didn't understand what he was telling them.

"_Mr. Potter_-"

"Don't you want to know why?" Al asked, looking bored. The fury was evident once more, and in the face of it the professor seemed to have frozen, so Al continued. "It's because I'm a Slytherin. I don't care if you don't like us, because believe me, we don't like you any more than you like us. But you're a professor; you're supposed to be impartial to houses. But _you're_ obviously incapable of even that small courtesy. Impartiality, what a joke . . ." Al paused, his eyes blazing anew, and he completed the look with a manic laugh. I knew there would be a lot of noise within the next few seconds.

"It's bloody hilarious, how you can spout bullocks about house unity, and then be blatantly prejudiced against Slytherin. Everyone hates our house! WHY? _We_ didn't do anything wrong! So what if some of our parents served Voldemort?" Everyone looked stunned at the use of Voldemort's name. "Oh, shut it! His name's Voldemort! Voldy, Voldy, Voldemort!" Al taunted, before remembering his purpose. "They were _some_ of our_parents_! And I have news for the lot of you, especially you, Professor Creevey: WE'RE NOT OUR PARENTS!" Al took a deep breath. Professor Creevey took advantage of this.

"POTTER, I DEMAND THAT YOU-" Professor Creevey practically screamed. Al matched his volume.

"EVERY TIME YOU PRAY TO MERLIN, HE WON'T LISTEN! EVEN IF YOU PRAY YOUR BROTHER WON'T DIE, HE WON'T LISTEN! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?" Al looked more enraged than ever. "MERLIN WAS A SLYTHERIN! THAT'S RIGHT! HE WAS A-" I covered my ears, not wanting to hear Albus's probably very inappropriate adjective. "-SLYTHERIN! A SLYTHERIN!" He laughed crazily before speaking quietly, his voice shaking with anger. "A 'disgusting little snake'. Probably the best wizard ever to go here, besides possibly Dumbledore, was a Slytherin." He laughed again, before raising his volume once more.

"BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT? GUESS WHO ELSE WAS A SLYTHERIN? DUMBLEDORE!" We all gave him blank looks. Al shrugged. "No? Ah well. . . But Severus Snape was! AND GUESS WHAT? MY DAD SAYS HE WAS THE BRAVEST MAN HE EVER KNEW!" Then Al stormed out of the classroom (quite dramatically), Professor Creevey now positively bellowing as loud as he could after him.

"A MONTH, POTTER! A MONTH'S DETENTION! AND FIFTY POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN! THAT'S RIGHT! GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM, POTTER! GO TO YOUR HEAD OF HOUSE, AND TELL HIM WHAT YOU DID!" Al turned around, smiling with mock sweetness.

"I happen to be unavailable this month. I already have a detention and therefore I will not be able to serve yours. So-" Al told him something I care not to repeat, and slammed the door behind him.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOT WAITING FOR? GET OUT!" The professor rounded on us.

Who were we to disobey a professor?

* * *

I tried to find Albus. I was furious with him. Sure, the bit about Merlin was bloody brilliant, but he just ruined our plan in one go! No one would ever begin to listen to us after _that_. Rose had rushed after him immediately after being dismissed, knowing his rage probably better than any of us. That left Scorpius, Piper, and I. _I _was furious, whereas Piper was split between grateful, scared, and angry. I'll try to explain it in an easier way:

I was seething, Piper was confused, and poor Scorpius was trying to control us both.

Better?

"Bloody. . . prat," I muttered, trying to stalk off after him. Scorpius grabbed my arm, and I turned to face him. "Let go," I said venomously, wanting nothing more than to strangle Albus Potter.

"No. I really don't think you want to murder Harry Potter's son. That could lead you into some potential legal trouble."

"Let go, Scorpius," I threatened, my eyes narrowing.

"No." Scorpius pinned my arm behind my back. I was going to go for my wand, you see.

"What are you, two?" I asked sarcastically.

"Says the girl who's glaring at me and trying to cross her arms." I couldn't cross them, as they were inconveniently pinned behind my back. I stuck my tongue out at him, trying to make a joke, before remembering the situation. "Let go."

"No."

"LET GO!"

"No."

"I mean it, Scorpius!"

"No."

"I swear to Merlin, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy-"

"Will you lot shut it for five seconds?" Piper exclaimed, having been quiet this entire time. She chose to round on me first. "Nick, if you threaten to kill Albus one more time I will hex you into the next century. It's _my_ fault he did that, because I can't bloody seem to defy professors like you or Al."

She really thought that?

"As much as I would like to believe Al was your knight in shining armour, love, I don't think that's it. The bloke seems pretty fed up with things lately, so it wasn't entirely your fault." I don't believe it. Scorpius managed to break his own record of the highest number of unintentional insults in two sentences.

"Scorpius!" I whispered angrily. "Not. Helping."

"What? Someone needed to tell her!" Scorpius shot back.

"You could have been about a thousand times more sensitive with it!" I countered.

"I'm right here!" Piper added, but she was smiling. "And a genius." I didn't hear the last bit, as I had already started talking.

"I still want to murder him. He jeopardized the entire mission! On the first day!" I shouted, before kicking Scorpius in the shin, and he gasped in pain, releasing his iron grip on me, allowing my escape. I wasn't meek; I was a Beater. It just helped Scorpius that he had muscles the size of butober pods.

"Wait! Nick!" Piper called, as I had started stalking away to begin my murder attempt. Suddenly I felt something hit me from behind. I heard a strange sound emit from my mouth as I hit the concrete. It sounded like an 'oof', but it couldn't have been. Also, the floor in the Charms corridor was hard, in case you were wondering.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm a genius!" Piper declared from her position on top of me. She was giggling like the silly little girl she was. Merlin, she was way too sweet (immature) sometimes. Drove me up the wall most of the time, but I guess someone had to offset my cynicism.

"When you decide to tell me something I don't know already. . ." I muttered, as Piper's straight O's were slightly infuriating at times. Especially compared to my marks.

"If you just studied . . ." Piper started, but then her voice changed. "Hey! I was about to tell you why I'm a genius!" She a breath before relaxing. "Al and I came up with that plan. Not the whole Merlin bit, though I have to admit that was bloody brilliant. Think about it, Nick." NO! Thinking hurts my brain. It's too small to be allowed to wander on its own.

"Keep talking," Scorpius said interestedly, standing in front of me. (I was still trapped under Piper, in case you cared. I probably could have escaped, being a beater and all, but I was too lazy at the moment).

"By pulling that little stunt, everyone will be talking about Al," she said.

"Well, yeah!" I shouted, but she dug her knee into my back. It hurt.

"Not like that, Nick. _Think_. Albus just stood up to Professor Creevey, and caused his face to turn purple. He didn't let Professor Creevey walk over him. He showed courage, as well as succeeding in being noticed. This _helped_ us, not hurt us," Piper explained, while finally getting off of me.

"Holy Merlin! You _are_ a Slytherin!" That bloody blond bint had been playing me the entire time!

"What are you two talking about? How was _that _good or helpful? He went bloody mental! On what planet is that good?" Scorpius exclaimed, but Piper and I looked to each other. He couldn't know of our plan, as he was a Gryffindor, so we walked away. It was quite rude, but we knew he would follow.

* * *

We were right; it was much like a lost puppy. We just kept walking, but soon the Gryffindor became irritated. He saw Rose, so he finally left us, probably to snog her face off. (Yes, I know I win the tact award) Still, Piper and I kept walking, until we reached Professor Zabini's office. Albus was sitting outside in one of the chairs, tipping it back like the idiot he was. I managed to still look furious, when I was really just frustrated that they kept me in the dark. Upon my look, Albus nearly fell out of the chair.

"You imbecile! You idiot!" I shouted, before kicking at him. The sad part was I missed, tripped, then somehow landed on my face.

"Oi!" Al shouted, before standing up and helping me up. He was laughing, as was Piper. I turned to him.

"You, Albus Severus Potter, are going to suffer my wrath," I threatened, slowly approaching him. The idiot actually believed my false rage.

"Nick. . ." Piper warned. She really was a great actor. I, however, was horrible. Who said 'suffer my wrath' anymore?

"But Piper. . ." I whined, turning towards her.

"Nick. . ."

"Piper!" I persisted.

"Albus!" Al shouted, wanting to be included.

"_You_ don't get to talk. You think you can just pull that kind of stunt and not tell me? YOU COULD HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!" I shouted, successfully wiping the smile off of his face.

"I'm sorry-" he started, but I continued my rant. Eventually it came to a stop, and I smiled. Partly because I had fooled Albus, partly because this is the part where I make him look like an idiot.

"-but, Merlin, that was bloody brilliant," I conceded, the smile still there. Al squealed like a little girl before pulling me into a hug. I struggled, but Albus was too bloody strong.

"Please refrain from attempting to murder Nick in the future, Albus." Professor Zabini really had a flare for entrances, it seemed. He was obviously furious with Al's little outburst. "I think we need to have a chat." He gestured towards his office, his face unreadable. Al's face was serious, and he simply nodded. Piper and I sat down in the two chairs and waited. Al would explain our plan, and surely Professor Zabini would understand . . . right?

* * *

"-DID THAT EVEN PENETRATE YOUR THICK SKULL?" We heard Professor Zabini yell.

"Please, Professor-" Al tried to explain.

"DID YOU EVEN STOP TO THINK ABOUT HOW THIS WOULD REFLECT ON NOT ONLY YOU, BUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE? ON ME?" Professor Zabini continued.

"Sir, please-" Al tried again.

"CAN YOU EVEN EXPLAIN YOURSELF?" Professor Zabini asked, with an air of finality.

"Actually, I can." Albus's voice was smug, and I just imagine him smirking as he said it.

* * *

"OI!" Al shouted, trying to be heard above the roar. I rolled my eyes, would the boy never learn?

"SHUT IT!" I screamed, and unlike Albus, I was successful. Al nodded his thanks, before returning to the twenty people in front of him. Everyone except the first years and Piper were there to try out for our wonderful Quidditch team. The current team was Albus as Captain and Seeker, Rhys Montague as my fellow Beater, and Alyssa as our only remaining Chaser. Piper wanted to be commentator, but apparently there would be 'bias' if she was. The reasoning behind that was _astounding_. Because a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff wouldn't be biased.

"Thank you, Nick. Now, if you lot aren't in Slytherin, I have full permission to literally kick your arses off of the pitch. I'm also sure our Beaters would enjoy having some target practice," Al threatened, and the little gits scrambled away. It may have been his menacing glare, or maybe it was the small enchantment that literally made them think their arses were on fire if they didn't run at least 500 meters away from the pitch. The Slytherins snickered.

"Piper?" Rhys asked under his breath. I stealthily nodded, and he hardly could retain his chuckle.

"Now that those idiots are off, please separate into two groups. It seems our Beaters actually are having target practice. If you get hit, get out of the air," Al ordered.

I took to the air, cackling slightly evilly. Why not scare the little recruits? Rhys was copying my motions, and before we knew it, we were in a war zone. All I could focus on was hitting the Bludgers as hard as I could. It was very calming, and I could see Rhys was enjoying the thrill as well. Before we knew it there were only around five left in the air. Al called them down. Rhys and I stayed up there, hitting the Bludgers at each other. To us it was all fun, but to any other observer it would appear we were trying to murder each other. I got hit a few times, and I knew I would have a few very nice bruises to add to my already scarred body.

"OI!" Al shouted, and I stopped. The last Bludger caught my stomach, and I gasped. Rhys started to apologise, but I shot him a look. I could handle it. We flew down, but the pain in my stomach had intensified. I shrugged it off, gritting my teeth, and no one questioned further.

"Now that our Beaters have decided to join us," Al started pointedly, "split into two groups. Chasers on the left, and Keepers on the right. And Ben, David, and Paige come and join us. You lot were good as well." This left us with five Chasers and three Keepers to sort through.

"Chasers first!" Alyssa said, running a few feet before jumping on her broom, almost riding into the stands, before pulling into a ninety degree upward dive, then flying upside down to the center of the pitch. It was her favorite trick; the team was used to it. The rest of the Chasers flew into the air less dramatically, nervous to be flying with Alyssa's dangerous tricks as well as obvious talent. Too bad the bloody bint wanted to be a Healer.

"All right. Paige, Finn, Lydia, Kenzie, and Arabella. It'll be Alyssa guarding Kenzie, Lydia guarding Arabella, and Finn guarding Paige. I'll pick the best two after a few minutes. Good luck!" Al shouted up to them. The Slytherin house was too close to bother with the intimidation at try-outs. I knew Kenzie, he was a fourth year. Kenzie's full name was Mackenzie Farley, and he was sweet and funny, with his bright blue eyes and blond hair. Last year, he punched Lily Potter right in the nose for some unknown reason. It surprised all of us, but Kenzie would never talk about it.

"Come on, Lydia! He shouldn't have made that pass!" Al shouted, and I forced myself to watch the Chasers. Personally, I thought Kenzie was brilliant, as he managed to confuse Alyssa, the most brilliant Chaser I've ever met, but Paige and Finn could be trained as well. Arabella and Lydia would be ready in a year or two. Eventually Al called the impromptu match off, after a spectacular dive from my favourite fourth year.

"You all played brilliantly," Al congratulated, before his smile faded. "However, there are only two open spots. . . which go to. . . Kenzie Farley and Paige Dunham! Finn, you'll be our reserve. The rest of you lot, you still played well. Maybe one of you will snatch Alyssa's spot next year. I hope you lot come and support Slytherin this year. Merlin knows we'll need it." Only Al would be nice about that. I rolled my eyes. "Now the Keepers!"

* * *

Eventually Al chose the Keeper. His name was Jasper, and he was pretty good. He managed to block eight of the ten goals, one by nearly launching himself from his broom. Ben and David were solid, both catching seven of their ten, but as Ben was older he received the reserve spot. Kenzie was still grinning from ear to ear, and I sent him a thumbs up. He grinned even wider, and I started to laugh, before wincing. I had forgotten about the hit to my stomach.

"-so we will be practising hard so we can WIN this year, and- Nick!" Al shouted, and I looked at him. "What was that?" He asked, and I mumbled something.

"It bloody hell wasn't nothing. You nearly jumped out of your seat, interrupting my very important speech!" Al said grumpily, and I started to laugh again, this time the pain became more intense. "Take off your shirt, Nick," Al said, and I gasped.

"If I told Piper. . ." I sang.

"Not like that, Merlin, get your mind out of the gutter. . . and I do _not_ fancy Piper!" Al exclaimed before drawing back. "Let me see your stomach." No. There are scary things on my stomach; scars I tried to hide.

"No," I said defiantly.

"But you're hurt!" Al said, with genuine concern.

"I'll be fine," I said through gritted teeth.

"You bloody well won't be!" Kenzie shouted before standing from his seat in front of me to gently yet forcefully pin me to the bench. I gasped, as my stomach hurt. He kept me restrained while Al lifted up my Quidditch training shirt. I looked down; an area the size of a two galleons was purple, yellow, and green. Al touched it and I almost jerked up. Kenzie kept me grounded, (How is a boy _that_ wiry _strong_?) but Al did not lower my shirt. He looked pale, but his eyes were not on the bruise, it was on a mark slightly higher. A mark clearly made from a blade.

He had seen the scar caused by _him_.


	6. Secrets and Surprises

"Bloody hell, Nick," Kenzie swore, stunned. He released me but I didn't sit up. Al mumbled a healing spell before storming out of the locker room, slamming the door behind him. I stood up, feeling no pain, and looked to Alyssa. She nodded; she would take care of the Quidditch idiots while I explained (lied) to Al. I would feel horrible later, but I just wasn't ready to tell them; I couldn't even look at the marks, much less_ talk_ about them. So I ran out of the rooms, looking for Al. I found him storming away, almost a dot in the distance. I took off at a sprint, and after a minute or two I finally seemed to catch up.

"Al!" I called as I ran. He didn't turn around. "AL!" I tried, almost screaming, though my voice cracked from desperation. I still got no response. "ALBUS! AL!" I was now only a hundred meters from him. "ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER!" I shouted, my voice finally being heard.

"Leave me alone, Nick," he growled before continuing on his course to the castle. If it was raining it would have been the perfect cliché. It seemed that is happening to me a lot lately.

"You're overreacting," I said, not letting the matter go.

"How long is the scar?" He asked, his voice hollow. At least he had turned around . . . right?

"From my shoulder to my belly-button," I whispered, wishing I could be back in fifth year. Everything I had built, every lie, was falling apart around me this year, and it was only the first month of school.

"How deep?" He croaked, looking into my eyes.

"Not deep enough to kill me," I answered. Al snorted, before starting to walk away. I knew why, he was frustrated. His friend is bruised and scarred, and she won't tell him a bloody thing. It was scaring him; she was withdrawing. If it was me I would have had enough long ago. Too bad I was the mate in question. I immediately knew what I had to do to save this, no matter how much it hurt. I needed to steel every nerve and doubt; this was Al. I couldn't do this to him forever.

"Wait! Al, I promise, I'll tell you!" I pleaded, stumbling after him up the steep slope. I slipped and fell, tumbling back down the hill, head over heels.

"Nick!" Al called, running after me, laughing slightly. I had landed with no cuts, but I would have a few more bruises to add to my collection. "Are you okay?" He asked, still laughing, and I nodded, sitting up. Al pushed me back down, only now appearing concerned. "You just fell a good thirty meters. You can't be okay."

"I'm fine," I assured him before leaping up, stumbling a little. Anyone would be a little light-headed after doing around ten flips. I probably had looked pretty comical; I know I would have laughed at Al had the situation been reversed.

"_Anyone_ could see that," Al replied, rolling his emerald eyes.

"You know what, Mr.-Pretty-Eyes?" I asked him, and he scoffed at the horrendous pet name. "I don't need your sarcasm. It makes me want to set Lottie and Thomas on you." They were crazy, simple as that. (more evidence to support this theory shall be provided later)

"You wouldn't," Al said, his voice a mix of doubt and fear.

"I'm a Slytherin, honey; there's nothing I wouldn't do," I shot back, smirking.

"I take it back. You have obviously not injured yourself. You're usually more pleasant and quiet when you're in pain," Al pointed out, and I scoffed.

"I am a highly lovable person, thank you very much!" I defended myself, and Al pretended to keel over in laughter.

"You? Lovable? That's like saying Voldemort was my grandfather!" Al compared, and I shuddered. Voldemort? Harry's father? It's like one of those horrendous Muggle movies!

"Oi!" I shouted, smacking Albus across the head.

"It's just, er, you're not the best with. . . people, Nick," Al tried explaining, and I did admit he had a valid point.

"That may be true. . ." I replied grudgingly.

"_May_? Nick, you made that Gryffindor sprout leeks out of her ears! You literally rearranged that Hufflepuff's face last year! You-"

"OI! I get it! I'm not the best with people, okay?" I shouted, not wanting to hear the rest.

"I. . . .AM. . . VICTORIOUS!" Al roared as we stood there, causing quite a few first years to run away. On the bright side, he forgot about the argument!

"Hey, Nick!" Al started, as if he suddenly was realizing something. "What was it that you said before you rolled down the hill?" He asked, and I sighed and mumbled.

"What in the name of Merlin does nitwit, balderdash, house elf, and Morgana have to do with this?"

"Nothing," I answered, shrugging.

"You were going to tell me, weren't you?" Al asked, his eyes positively sparkling with happiness, albeit a slight hint of insanity as well.

"No?" I denied, but it sounded more like a weak question than a denial.

"You were!" Al responded, practically jumping up and down with joy.

"Fine. I'll tell you, because, frankly, at the rate this year is going, something more horrendous is bound to happen, and I figure it can't get any worse by telling you a sob story from hell. I'm sorry I kept it this long; it's just that-" I started fumbling, my emotions never finding my mouth. I'm not good with expressing them.

"I know, Nick." He understood. He understood! I sighed with relief.

"You'd probably find out soon enough, anyways." I grinned, but it slipped after realizing what I was about to do. " Wanna go to the Astronomy Tower?" Al looked surprised at the abruptness, but started running there before turning around.

"Can I go get Piper?"

"Why not?" I answered wearily, before sighing. It would all come out.

* * *

"Bloody hell," Al said as soon as I finished. He said it simply, like there was nothing else to say. Tears were streaming down my face; it was agonizing to talk about it all. Imagine stabbing yourself repeatedly in the stomach; that's how I felt. Piper wasn't crying; she was being my rock. Al was too furious with either me or _him_ to do anything. I really wasn't sure which.

"How come. . . how come you didn't tell us sooner? We could have helped; you shouldn't have let him hurt you. You know it's wrong," Piper practically whispered.

"In truth, I can't believe I actually told you. It's the first time I've said anything about it," I admitted, before breaking out into fresh tears, my hand jumping to cover my stomach.

"Sh. . . you're here now. He's gone; you're safe. He'll never hurt you again," Al comforted me, though it sounded like he was shoving it onto me, as if he was taunting _him_ to say different. I fought the urge to recoil from his touch. _He_ had said the exact opposite. I just sobbed louder, and Piper and Al moved by me. Only they would stand next to me through this; they were true mates. I was horribly depressing, moody, and I have probably the worst past since Harry Potter himself. Merlin knows _I_ would abandon me. I realised I was pitying myself, but I couldn't bring myself to stop. The past hurt more than a thousand curses for me, and I had just spilled it on a whim. I was beyond furious with myself, not to mention confused about it all, hurt because the past is terrifying, and glad Al and Piper understood.

"He's still out there. He wants revenge, I can feel it," I confessed, looking at my mates. My brain was not in control of my words.

"We won't let him near you. Right, Piper?" Al said forcefully, and she nodded. His emerald eyes were still swirling and blazing with a fury I had never seen before. "And, you're strong, Nick. You're like a bloody fortress, and stubborn to boot. It took us six bloody years to break you!" The emeralds had not yet calmed, though I could tell he was bottling it inside for my sake. I laughed, a real one.

"You're right. I'm done with this depressing conversation," I conceded, and Al hugged me, but his emerald eyes portrayed his worry and doubts for a second, the fury disappearing for a millisecond. Smart kid, he is. Still, I was worried about the fury.

"That's the fortress we all know and ha-" I smacked him and he yelped, "-love!" I nodded and he glared, before he smiled evilly. After some playful banter, we just all sat there for hours. It felt nice, peaceful even, for me. Eventually Al broke the calm silence, his face still stony and expressionless, save for the traitorous emeralds. "Want to go start hell week?" Al asked, and I groaned. Hell week was the worst week to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team. I could tell Al was still sceptical, for lack of a better word, but decided to put his mask on for me.

* * *

Al and I crept into each dormitory, casting a silencing charm around the non-players' beds. Except for Piper's, that is. We needed a healer in case of injuries. Then Al magnified his voice.

"Welcome . . . TO HELL!" Al cackled, his eerie voice bouncing around the Slytherin house. "IF YOU WISH TO SURVIVE . . . YOU WILL BE AT THE PITCH IN TEN MINUTES. IF NOT . . . WRITE YOUR WILLS NOW," Al finished, before taking the charm off. He snickered, before sprinting out of the common room, leaving me to catch up. Sprinting through the halls at three o'clock in the morning? Not what I expected when I had signed up for the team way back when. It takes twenty minutes to get to the pitch when walking, so the team had to sprint. If anyone didn't get there in time, we would all enjoy running around Hogwarts till our feet bled.

"AL! Wait up!" I called, not caring about curfew. Out of nowhere he appeared next to me.

"Come on!" He called, but I was curious. How come we were out after curfew (shouting) and not being caught? I asked him this.

"Professor Zabini pulled some strings so we could practice and be out after hours. Surprisingly, Anslem agreed." I nodded, keeping pace with his long stride. Eventually we made it to the pitch, and I stopped. I loved night; there were so many stars at Hogwarts that it looked like one giant swirling mass of light. It was beautiful.

"I know. That's why I love hell week," Al said, as I stood there, staring at the stars.

"Can we practice at three in the morning all the time?" I asked hopefully, and Al chuckled.

"I wish. Maybe I could make a case the other Professors might agree to, but there's the whole idea of sleep to worry about." I shrugged. Sleep wasn't important; we could go turn in really early then wake up early. Since we wouldn't have practice after dinner, we could do our homework then sleep. I pointed this out.

"Maybe, Nick. It really is a sight, though. Now come on, it's time for training to start." I sighed; I just wanted to stand there and ogle at the stars. Al was observing my face, as if I was a time bomb waiting to explode. I felt more peaceful than I had in a while, though I knew it was only me. Al and Piper were exactly the opposite. I knew them; they would pretend it was a small matter because of me, but in their minds they were driving themselves insane. There was nothing I could do to stop it; this was why I hadn't wanted to tell them. Later, when I wasn't around, they would talk through it. They were cradle friends; they knew each other probably better than I know myself. I begrudgingly followed Al, knowing the hell that would form to fit the words on his lips.

"What the hell?" Kenzie muttered, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. I shot him a dark look, as did Rhys and Alyssa. _Never_ swear during hell week. It resulted in a lot of running; the policy had been created after I had cussed out Al with every step I took.

"Why thank you, Farley. I was about to introduce you lot to hell, but it seems Kenzie- I mean Farley- here has decided to take the honour. Hell has four letters; go run four laps._Then_ we start practice." No one groaned, but kept our faces impassive. Rhys and I exchanged looks; one lap around the pitch was one kilometer. This was going to be fun. (note the sarcasm)

"This next drill we will do happens to be Alyssa's- _Montague's_- favourite," Al started, and I repressed a snicker. He couldn't get the hang of the whole last names thing. It annoyed him to no end, but the rest of us found it bloody amusing. Or we would, had we not just been on the pitch for two hours, not even having touched a broom. I was red and sweaty, cursing Al in my mind. "Everyone will jog around the pitch, but when I call your name, you will sprint until I tell you to stop. Is that clear? Good. Begin," Al said, taking a spot between me and Kenzie. At least Al did the drills with us, which was more than his brother could say. What? We _do_ spy on the Gryffindors. Seriously, we're Slytherins for Merlin's sake.

And so we ran. Alyssa loved running, and I guess I liked how relaxed it made you. Not to the extent she did; Alyssa was mental. Her face was passive, but I knew she was smiling on the inside.

"Fine. ALYSSA!" Alyssa had been staring at our dear Captain, begging to go first. She smiled and took off, rounding the corners with amazing speed. She loved the rush of the sprint, whereas I liked the rush, but could do without the sprinting bit of it.

"NICK!" I groaned and took off. It truly was hell-a-la-Quidditch.

"Good job, team. Get some sleep, classes start in two hours. Be back on the pitch at midnight tonight," Al told us, smiling broadly. We had done quite well, though we hadn't even touched our brooms. So they all hobbled off, probably catching a nap before classes started. It was six o'clock, and I hadn't had any sleep that night, because of my story. I yawned and curled into a ball on the pitch while Al cleaned up. The Gryffindor team would be out here soon, and we needed to clear out. But somehow I managed to fall asleep out there, on the muddy pitch.

* * *

Al finished cleaning up, looking around for Nick. Eventually he spotted her, curled up in the middle of the pitch, fast asleep. He sighed; he didn't want to wake after the night she had. Albus had wanted to know about Nick's past forever, he couldn't stand it that she carried the weight all by herself.

Now he understood why she hadn't told anyone; it was horrific. Albus wanted to murder_him_ for what he had done, but he was also furious that Nick had kept it all inside. He was worried about her, no matter how much she brushed it off. It was eating him up from the inside, seeing her struggle and not being able to help. He knew Piper felt the same way. Piper. Albus needed to talk to Piper.

So Al levitated Nick back to the common room, his thoughts troubled and unclear even to him. Piper was waiting, wide awake. He just lay Nick down on the couch before sitting next to the blond-haired girl. Immediately she gave into the tears she had been holding in. Nick was hurting her, no matter how she tried to prevent it. Al was furious; Piper was falling apart, and it was Nick's fault. _No. She can't help it. _But Al couldn't help but feel angry. Anyone who could hurt someone as innocent as Piper was usually automatically labelled 'puppy kicker' in his book. But it was Nick; she didn't mean to, but she always ended up hurting everyone anyway. He knew she tried so hard to protect them, but it had never worked, but she wouldn't ever admit that.

So he just sat there, rubbing Piper's back and murmuring to her softly. His best mates were in shambles; Nick was either screaming or glaring these days, and she was hurting her best friend. _Both _of them, because no matter how much Al tried, he couldn't help but be constantly terrified for Nick. Anyone would, if they knew the truth about her. Al didn't know what to do, when in truth there was nothing he physically could.

Eventually Piper quieted, and they sat there, confiding in each other their worries about their best friend. She would say nothing was wrong, even if everything was in flames around her, about to swallow her whole. Albus couldn't help but think that metaphor described Nicole Warrington's situation perfectly.

* * *

When I awoke I was laying on a couch in the common room. Al had carried me all the way up here? Wow, that boy was strong. He was curled up on the couch opposite me, Piper tucked safely under his arms, his face peaceful, laughing slightly at something Piper said. They were just so damn cute together. I couldn't help but smile seeing them.

"Good morning, Sleeping Nicky," he greeted me, smiling, but I read him better than he knew. He was still beyond worried, and the dark circles under his eyes alerted me to his exhaustion.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up slowly, yawning. Piper smiled, but it was a nervous smile. "I'm fine, Piper. You don't need to worry." _Lies_. I was as far from fine as you could possibly be.

"Around seven. Come on, I need some tea to even think about going to Defence." After OWLs last year, I had decided be an Unspeakable, which required nearly the same classes as a Healer, which Piper planned to be. Al still had no bloody clue what he wanted to do, so he continued with the same classes as Piper and I, though he was best at DADA and Potions. Good thing, too, as Piper and I were rubbish at Potions.

"Come on, Piper! It's a wonderful morning!" I said, standing up.

"Nick, you got two hours of sleep, so you're not allowed to be this awake. _And_ you're still in your Quidditch robes, which I would recommend changing before classes. Perhaps a shower as well," Piper called loftily, walking out of the common room linked arm and arm with Al, smirking. I begrudgingly did as she asked. I realised I hadn't really had a chance to talk with her at all this term, so I frowned. I was so caught up in my own troubles I had forgotten about her. I guess I could add friend to the list of things I had failed at. I thought about this as I planned to exit the common room, before Kenzie stopped me.

"Oi! 'Lyssa wants me to remind you to tell Al and Piper that we have another family meeting tonight. Something about Lottie and Thomas," Kenzie told me, before smiling wryly. Charlotte Rookwood and Thomas Davis made it their lives goals to act like evil geniuses and scare the general population of Hogwarts, even though they would technically be Prefects in two years. (They were the only third years) Just last night I heard them say this to Alyssa:

_"Don't worry. I won't kill the new minions, I mean first years, oh Queen; this week I was planning to make a tower of Hufflepuffs then go bowling." She cackled evilly, before gesturing wildly, trying to mime out the entire plan. "BOOM!" Lottie had reassured Alyssa, whom she referred 'master' or 'queen' at all times. Basically it meant Alyssa was one of the two people who had any sort of control over the two third years._

"Thomas?" Alyssa had prompted after sighing.

"I make no promises." Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "What? If I'm a Slytherin, my role model is obviously Voldemort, and _**he**__ had no issues with killing small children, so why should I?" Thomas paused as if in deep thought. "Actually, if you take out the mass-murder bit, Voldemort actually__** should**__ be my role model. He was ambitious, pretty smart, and he had a following of devoted minions. What else could I want?" Alyssa gave him a pointed look._

"You do realize_** they**__ are Slytherins as well? And probably your future minions if that actually does happen?" Silence. Then . . ._

Lottie cursed before running after the first years.

"Come back! We promise not to kill you! Master Alyssa made us promise we wouldn't! We were lying! . . . . . . . . . . . Please be our minions?" 

This couldn't be good. I groaned, before realising something else.

Before even that, first I had to get through Defence Against the Dark Arts. Then Charms. Then another detention.

It was going to be a long day.


	7. Lottie and Thomas

I stumbled into the Defence classroom to find everyone staring at me, including Professor Patil.

"Ten points from Slytherin. Try not be late next time," she greeted in a dry tone.

"Technically, she isn't late, Professor. Class doesn't start for two minutes," Scorpius defended, checking his watch.

"Fine. Take back the ten points." The professor glared at Scorpius and me both. I sat down quietly next to him, who was tipping back in his chair nonchalantly. Seeing as though Scorpius was a Malfoy, she automatically grouped him with Al, Piper, and I. Welcome to the Death Eaters, Scorpius.

"Thanks," I muttered to him, pulling out my book and my wand.

"Today we will be practising non-verbal shield charms. I will choose the pairs." I groaned. This wouldn't be good.

"Potter and Wood, Longbottom and Weasley, Dalton and Malfoy, Warrington and Stebbins . . ." the professor continued prattling on, but I had tuned it out, shooting a panicked look at Piper. She looked scared for me, but I gulped and steeled my fear. I would just jinx the prat until he couldn't form a coherent sentence; I was a Slytherin after all, not a Hufflepuff. She nodded, seeing the resolution in my eyes. I moved to stand across from him, Scorpius at my right, Owen across from him. I smiled; I could 'accidentally' hit him with a curse today as well.

"All right. Partners on the right side, you will attempt it first." I bit back a retort; Al, Piper, Scorpius, and I were all on the right side. I _wonder_ how she chose which side would start. I put all of my anger into my magic, trying my hardest not to get hexed.

* * *

"I heard you murmur it under your breath, Potter!" Layla screeched, after her hair-removal jinx hit Albus's silent shield. He hadn't been the first to achieve it, as Scorpius had, but the jinx had bounced off and hit its caster. Layla Wood was screeching, her hair lying around her on the floor.

"Mr. Potter! Ten points from Slytherin!" the professor announced, aghast. I snorted; anyone who knows Al would know how strongly he is opposed to cheating. And he calls himself a Slytherin! "It would be a detention, but it seems you and . . . Ms. Warrington . . . are a bit busy at the moment," she slipped in, her eyes lingering on me, a satisfied glint in her eye. She knew! Scorpius grabbed my wrist, ready to restrain me. Prick. I wouldn't have done anything; I was on probation for Merlin's sake!

"I didn't hear him mutter it," Piper spoke up, "and I was standing right next to him. He didn't cheat. Rose is standing on the other side of him. Did you hear anything?" I stood there in shock; Piper would _never _disrespect a professor.

"It's true," Rose added, her face set. She and Al had known each other in the womb. She would defend him even if Al murdered someone.

"Ms. Wood?" Professor Patil asked, her lips pursed.

"You don't believe me?" Wood exclaimed, shocked. "Why not? It's obvious he's lying; he's a _Slytherin_! That Longbottom girl, too! And Weasley's _obviously_ been confounded!" Scorpius's grip on me tightened.

"Let . . . me . . . go. I know I can't bloody do anything, or I'll be expelled," I seethed. I knew the consequences and I wasn't going to go hex her in broad daylight! That would just be plain stupid! No, I'd hex her on her way to one of her midnight rendezvous.

"Well . . . if Ms. Wood truly believed Mr. Potter cheated, school policy states I must believe the victim, so-" Piper cut her off, me biting my tongue. I couldn't get in trouble.

"School policy also states that the defendant can do just that . . . defend his or herself. Albus has two witnesses who both back his story, and _Ms. Wood_ can hardly be qualified a victim! It was her own curse; Albus just defended himself, also doing what _you_ told him the goal of the lesson was!" I love it when my best mate gets all nerdy and quotes the rule book, throwing the professor's defence right in her face.

"Well then. I'm sorry Ms. Wood, but for Ms. Longbottom's cheek I shall keep the points taken-"

Scorpius swore, (though it was disguised as a cough) after releasing my wrist.

"-and Ms. Weasley, would you please escort Ms. Wood to the Hospital Wing? Class dismissed." I ran up to Piper, who was seething. Al was standing beside her, fists clenched and face white with rage. You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

"I love you!" I called, hugging her before throwing her over my shoulder. She was surprisingly light, and I ran away, oblivious to her protests. "Oi! Al! I'm kidnapping your girlfriend!" Al smiled, the first genuine smile I had seen all year.

And, yes, I had done all this because I had missed the smile (and Piper, but his smile is so cute that I'm saying I did it for him).

I carried Piper all the way to the dungeons, where I dropped her on her bed, and saw her giggling.

"Did you just kidnap me, Nick?" I nodded, breathing heavily from carrying her all the way here. "Why?" she asked quietly.

"Well, in all of my self-absorbed sulking slash angst fest, I had forgotten that I had not had a real chance to talk to my best mate about her summer or her general well-being."

"And, 'Piper, can we talk later? I haven't seen you in forever' wouldn't have worked?" she asked sarcastically.

"That takes the fun out of it, though," I replied, grinning. "So. . . what I'm interested in is a certain git with black hair. Anything to share?" I cut to the chase.

"There's nothing between me and Al," Piper replied sharply, but I couldn't help but notice her slight blush.

"Mm hmh," I said sceptically, but let the matter drop. "So how _was_ your summer?"

"My mum yelled, my dad continued his affair with his plants, my brothers refused to speak to me and put various bugs and poisonous plants in my food, so I hit Luke with a knee-reversal jinx, causing my dear mother to ground me for using magic outside of school. For three bloody weeks, whereas when _Luke_ hit me with the same hex when he was a fourth year, she just told him not to use magic outside of school."

"So it was fun, eh?" I answered cheerily, knowing how much Piper detested her family.

"Just the best. How's Quidditch?" I groaned at Piper's question.

"Your _boyfriend_ is cheating on you with his broomstick. He's obsessed!" I even did a 'coo-koo' sign to emphasize the meaning; that's how crazy Al was!

"He's not my boyfriend," Piper replied sharply.

"Mm hmh . . ." I replied sceptically. Piper blushed, and I let out a whoop of victory and got up and jumped from Piper's bed to mine. Eventually I managed to start acting like a sixth-year instead of a six-year-old.

"Speaking of boyfriends; how's Charms with Owen Dalton?" Piper waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"The Puff? He's funny, but that doesn't mean I still don't want to poke them with spoons . . . or knives," I defended.

"You sound like Lottie and Thomas . . . and that's not a good thing," Piper pointed out. I remembered what Alyssa told me.

"Speaking of our favourite third years; 'Lyssa says we have another family meeting tonight 'cause of them." Piper groaned. "Now I don't seem too bad, now do I?"

"Well . . . no. Everyone, I mean every Slytherin, knows that Lottie and Thomas are just joking around. You, however, are much more serious," Piper reasoned. I was astounded.

"Are you saying Lottie and Thomas don't follow through with their schemes? I'm pretty sure they just put up "EVIL MINIONS: WANTED" signs in the common room, and they poisoned the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team last year, before dressing up like Voldemort and throwing sandwiches at the Hufflepuffs!" I shot back. Piper giggled.

"Don't forget when they hexed the Gryffindors to sing their undying love for us every time they came within jinxing range for a week," she reminded me. "Crazy Uncle Nick," she added, and I groaned. That was Lottie and Thomas's _endearing _nickname for me. They called Piper 'mum', and Al either 'dad' or 'Lord Aldemort'.

"I'm not that bad." Piper shrugged. "Seriously?" I asked incredulously.

"Don't we have Charms to go to?"

"Stop avoiding the question, _Mum_!"

"I'm not avoiding it!"

"Fine. Then I'll ask Al what he thinks." At this point Piper burst out into hysterical peals of laughter. I glared, but followed her out of the common room.

* * *

"Do you think I'm worse than Lottie and Thomas?" I asked as soon as I saw Al. He looked confused for a minute, then looked as if he was trying to think of the best way to phrase his answer. (Piper was still laughing, in case you were wondering)

"Well . . . " he settled with.

"I told you!" Piper shouted.

"He didn't answer!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"OI!" Piper and I looked at the sound of the voice. It was Owen Dalton. "As amusing as it is to watch you bicker like three-year-olds . . . do you _really _want Professor Creevey to walk in on this?"

"Yes," I replied bluntly, while Piper said the exact opposite. Owen rolled his eyes at me, before walking to our table. I didn't follow.

"Nick?" Al asked innocently. "Do you _really_ want to be in detention for the rest of the year?"

"Why would I want that?" I asked, confused.

"Because, if Creevey walked in on that, you would be in detention until you graduate," he finished, smirking. I smacked him. "Now what's with all this I hear about my favourite third-years?"

Piper and I explained what happened. I left out the part about my tiny victory with her and Al, and told him about the meeting. He groaned.

"What could they have done? They're _third_ years, and it's only the second bloody week of school!" Al moaned, but I just raised an eyebrow. We already had detention for the next month, and it was only the 'second bloody week of school'.

"It might not be bad," Piper suggested. "Maybe they're planning one of their weird competitions. You know, like when Al won the award for best future evil genius for our house to rally around and take over the world."

"They called you Lord Aldemort for weeks," I said wistfully. Al looked disgruntled.

"Still do. Either that or Dad," he remarked, slight annoyance in his eyes.

"And I'm Mum," Piper added, rolling her eyes. I couldn't help my next comment; they set themselves up for it.

"Smart kids." I received a punch from Albus and a slap from Piper. "Why do I hang out with you lot? You're abusive, you are!" Piper's face fell. She took what I said to heart.

"Don't say that. You shouldn't be so laid back about it, Nick. I'm worried sick about you, and you're just making jokes like it was a prank you pulled," she said quietly. I mentally cursed, because I forgot they knew . . . I couldn't make light-hearted comments like that anymore.

"I forgot, Piper. I don't mean it-" I started, apologies bubbling up from my mouth, but Al cut me off.

"Just drop it."

Why was Albus being so cold to me?

"Sorry," I apologised quietly, my face red. I really didn't mean half the dung I said; Albus should know that. I don't deal with bad things well. . . I run. Or pretend it doesn't exist. He_knows_ that. And suddenly, there came my temper. I was sick of Albus being so bloody pissy all of the time.

"What's this I hear about a Lord Aldemort?" Owen jumped in, having returned from dumping his bag by our desk.

"That's Albus," I said coldly, staring Albus down. He didn't flinch, and I cursed mentally. Owen didn't seem deterred, either. Bloody Hufflepuff.

"That's cool. What else do they call people?" he said, slightly too eagerly. I glared, but Piper smiled.

"Well, Albus can be Lord Aldemort, or Dad. I'm Mum, and Alyssa and Rhys Montague-" Owen interrupted her.

"The twins?"

"-yeah, they're Masters, and Nick here is Crazy Uncle Nick," Piper finished, still smiling politely.

"That's pretty wicked. And they're third years?" I nodded. Owen let out a low whistle. "The Hufflepuff third years are too scared to_talk _to the sixth and seventh years, much less do what they do."

"You haven't been there when they're plotting the deaths of approximately three quarters of the world's population, or trying to recruit minions, or minioning Alyssa and Rhys, or-" Albus said dryly, before I cut him off.

"He gets it. Come on, Owen, let's go to our desk; Creevey'll be here soon. Albus, you might want to do the same. He might not be so happy to see you after-"

"I get it, Nick," Albus said. He sent me an odd look, which quickly turned to annoyance. I left, Owen following, and Piper and Albus talked. Piper looked angry, then concerned, until she finally laughed at what Albus said.

Damn. Now I couldn't stay mad at Albus; he just made Piper laugh. She normally didn't smile for at least an hour after we, (meaning Albus and I) had any sort of fight, no matter how small. Most of the time she was lost in thought after something happened, Merlin knows about what.

Oh look . . . they've resorted to flirting.

"Come again?" Owen asked from next to me. I hadn't realised I had said the last bit out loud. I was still staring at my two best mates, and Owen put the pieces together. "Ah . . . you just want them to get together, because they're so sickeningly cute, but you're also wishing they don't so you can watch Albus suffer for whatever he did before I jumped into your conversation." Since when were Hufflepuffs so observant?

"Since when were Hufflepuffs so observant?" I asked. Owen let out a loud laugh, before hardening his expression and glaring at me. That made me laugh; Hufflepuffs can't glare to save their lives.

"Since when were Slytherins such pricks?" he shot back after my laughter, and I looked at him seriously, before smiling.

"Around the same time we decided mass murder was the best from of diplomacy," I said cheerfully, and Owen banged his head on our desk. He did that every time he realised he couldn't win the particular argument (he prefers the word debate) we were having. Piper and Al were still undergoing what I decided to call The Mating Ritual, (note the caps) so they didn't notice.

"Love, for someone who hexed the last Hufflepuff who called Slytherins Death Eaters, you_really _like proving that she's right," he commented mildly, but I still punched him on the shoulder. He yelped- I cackled evilly. Piper and Albus were now at their respective seats, but they were continuing The Mating Ritual.

"Ten points from Slytherin for harming Mister Dalton. Please refrain from using Muggle violence in the future, Miss Warrington." Albus and Piper both glared at the professor, before sending me a 'warning'. Owen looked apologetic. I just shrugged, and Creevey started his lesson.

"I swear to Merlin, Dalton," I hissed, Owen having stolen my quill once more. Creevey still prattled on, but Owen decided he didn't want to pay attention today. (as if he ever did) _I_, however, decided to be a good little snake today and take notes. And _Owen_, being the dolt he was, decided to steal my quill to doodle a funny scene involving Professor Creevey, a hippogriff, and Professor Longbottom. I'm not allowed to say anything more; it's highly inappropriate. Piper would have burned the parchment and yelled for a good half hour had she seen it. And she wondered why Lottie and Thomas call her mum.

"Do you need this quill, _Warrington_?" he shot back, emphasizing my last name.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, and Owen shrugged.

"Okay." But he didn't give me the quill back. I quietly put my head on the table. This already long day just kept getting longer.

"Er . . . Nick?" Owen asked some ten seconds later. My head was still down, but luckily Creevey had chosen to ignore me today. Instead he pounded on Albus, which I was fine with as of now. So I just sat there, finding the desk to be increasingly comfy. "Nick!" he hissed, but I just moaned. Then he poked me. Then again. And again.

"What?" I finally asked, out of sheer annoyance.

"You can have your quill back," he said, but I just glared at him. "but only if you say please . . . and with a smile." How was this kid not a Slytherin?

"Please let me have my quill back so I can stab you repeatedly with it," I said with a plastic smile on my face.

"Not what I was looking for, but I'll give you the points for creativity," he relented. Owen gave me my quill, and I stabbed him with it (only once). "I didn't think you were serious!" he yelped.

"I'm a Slytherin, honey. I take my threats very seriously," I said airily.

"Mad woman," he muttered, and I almost stabbed him again, but the professor just _had _to get in the way.

"Now attempt the spell," he instructed, before glaring at Owen and I, "Silently, please."

"Do you have any idea what we're supposed to be doing?" I asked Owen quietly.

"Twenty points from Slytherin!" Creevey announced. My head shot up from my notes.

"What for?" Piper asked incredulously. "I didn't do anything, Nick was reading her notes, and Al was-"

"Mr. Potter was talking, Ms. Longbottom. After I specifically said I wanted the class to be silent," he said.

"He was saying the incantation!" I blurted. I got three looks telling me to shut it. I ignored them.

"You lot can cast non-verbal spells, can you not?" he asked sharply, his face turning red.

"Sir, we've just started them. Only Piper and Ow-, I mean, Dalton can really do them," Albus cut in.

"It's a great time to practice, then." I fought the urge to retort, instead settling for glaring at my notes. Thank Merlin Owen knew not to pester me.

* * *

"You may go," Professor Longbottom finally said, after two full hours of cleaning the roof. Albus and I stood up silently and walked gingerly off the roof, and into the castle. My arms were sore from scrubbing, and I personally believed a better idea for cleaning would be to enlarge the sponge before sitting on it and sledding off the roof.

"How many days left?" I asked Albus, forgetting I wasn't on good terms with him.

"Too many," he replied, rubbing his shoulder. He had slipped and went tumbling off the roof. Thank Merlin for the charms, otherwise Albus would have died. I was terrified as I saw him fall, and the rest of the time I constantly glanced to make sure he was still there. I now how he felt when he saw _me_ fall off . . . and pitch myself off of the roof.

"Is your shoulder okay?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, just a little sore," he replied, but I saw him wince as he moved it.

"Not believing it. Show me," I ordered, feeling a sense of déjà vû. Only a day or two ago were the roles reversed.

"I'm fine, Nick," Al said irritably, but I just raised an eyebrow.

"I do know my fair share of healing spells, " I offered, and Al sighed, before peeling off his wet shirt. He had knocked down his bucket when he fell. "Turn around," I ordered, and Albus did. The back of his shoulder was a mess of black and blue. I touched it lightly, and Al clenched his fists. He was trying not to wince. "_Conteret emendandum_," I muttered, and traced my wand over each bruise. One by one they disappeared.

"Thanks, Nick," Al said gratefully, rolling his shoulder to test it out. I nodded, but I couldn't ignore the elephant in the room: Charms.

"Listen, about Charms," I started, after nearly five minutes of silence. It took that long for me to work up the courage.

"I know, Nick. Me, too," he said, but then he continued. "But Piper's right: you can't keep joking about this. It's hurting her, everything. She cried for two hours after you told us; she's terrified, Nick," Al told me, trying to meet my eyes, which were currently on my trainers. They really were at the point of falling apart.

"I didn't know," I said, still not looking up.

"Piper didn't want you to, that's why you didn't know. She's tough, Piper is. But you can't keep acting like it's nothing, because we both know that's nowhere near true, and it scares Piper even more. She is _terrified_, and I am to. To think that at any given time, you could be-" Albus said, and I couldn't take it any more.

"I know, all right?" I cut in, not wanting to go down memory lane.

"The point is, you don't have to act around us anymore," Al reassured me, putting his arm around me. I still couldn't meet his eyes.

"I know," I said quietly.

"Nicole Warrington, look at me," Albus commanded. My brown eyes, filled with my guilt, met his green eyes, blazing with worry and a twinge of anger. "You just can't pretend it's okay anymore, because it's not. You're not alone in this, you don't have to freakin' bottle everything up inside," he said, squeezing me tight. "Now it's three against the world."

"Thanks, Al," I said gratefully, and he let go. "Now let's go. Alyssa will have our heads if we're late for the meeting."

"Let's make it a race," he said, grinning evilly. I nodded, and we both took off down the corridor.

* * *

"I WIN!" Al roared triumphantly, but I was only a step behind it.

"Sore winner," I said, sticking my tongue out, before realising our entire house was watching.

"Thank you, Al and Nick, for gracing us with your presences. Now we can finally start the meeting," Alyssa said, smiling slightly. Neither of us blushed, but hurried over to Piper nonetheless.

"Before we start, a reminder that the Quidditch team has practice tonight-" cue groans, "-and to not lose house points because you can't control your mouth." Alyssa's gaze found us, but we stared back innocently. "Now, the main reason for this meeting: Lottie and Thomas, take it away," Alyssa said wearily, looking like she was regretting this.

"Thank you, Master," Lottie said, before smiling evilly at us. I repressed a groan. "About this whole 'we're taking over' thing, Thomas and I come here to offer our assistance. This does _not_ mean we're turning all 'flowers and rainbows, let's go help people', however. We want to make it _very_ clear that we're still plotting world domination. Speaking of world domination, we will be having what we like to call 'The Minion Games' tomorrow. All first years are required to participate. Thomas, take it away, this was your idea. I personally don't understand why we're helping-" I had forgotten how painfully short Lottie's attention span was, and her amazing ability to ramble.

"Please hurry. I have five essays I need to write," Rhys cut in calmly.

"If we have any chance of winning the house cup, being good won't cut it. The other houses outnumber us three to one, and the only way we can win is if we cause them to lose _major_ points," he said, grinning evilly.

"Merlin, please tell me this isn't going where I think it's going," I muttered to Albus.

"This is where me and Lottie come in. If, and only if, you give us free creative reign, we will cause the other houses to crumble from the inside out. _And_, we promise to refrain from our normal extracurricular activities, such as kidnapping Hufflepuffs to use as bowling pins, or stalking James Potter-"

"Wait a minute! You never told me we'd have to give up annoying him! He was the most fun!" Lottie pouted. I looked at Albus, who was watching this unfold with a bemused expression.

"Please discuss this later," Alyssa and Rhys said at the same time.

"Yes, Masters," they replied in equal unison. This was freaking me out.

"This is creepy," I said at the same time as Albus. Oh Merlin! They were contagious!

"_Anyways_ . . . what do you lot think?" Rhys said, standing up. "I think there is some merit to this, but if we're caught, it's over. Are you will to take the risk?" I had the perfect answer. I was all for this; it made perfect sense.

"I am. We said we'd do anything to prove ourselves, and dirtying our hands a little isn't exactly an abstract concept to us. We can play dirty, it's not like the other houses are fluffy little bunnies," I stated, and murmurs arose.

"All right then. Lottie and Thomas, you _do_ have to check your ideas with me or Rhys first, so we can be sure you won't be expelled . . . or sent to Azkaban," Alyssa decreed, and Lottie and Thomas squealed before hugging her.

"Thank you, Master! You won't regret this!"

"And feel free to continue harassing James!" Albus added, before pulling out a large book.

"What is _that_ for?" I asked, eyeing it suspiciously, afraid it was going to attack me.

"Were you even_ in _Charms last week? We have to read it and write an essay about it by tomorrow." I swore, and Piper laughed.

"Come on, I'll help you," she said, and I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe today hadn't been so bad after all; I had friends willing to help me write a thirteen-foot essay that was due tomorrow, and our mission hadn't failed. Yet.

That was a new record, in my world.


	8. Biding Our Time

"COME ON, NICK!" Al shouted, as I dived towards another Bludger. There had been a few weeks of calm since Lottie and Thomas had pitched their idea. When I asked them when everything would start to take effect, they looked at me darkly and said something about gender-confused fairies, portable swamps, and make-up.

Anyways, I was currently in Quidditch practice. We were supposed to play Gryffindor in a week, and Al was working us to the point where I literally stumbled off the pitch each night, unable to walk straight.

"I'm trying!" I shot back, after I whacked the Bludger, smiling slightly as it took the head off a target. Albus was drilling us harder and harder each practice, probably because, (as much as I hate to admit it) Gryffindor has the better team. It probably had something to do with the fact they had about three times as many people to choose from, and all the bloody Weasleys.

"Yeah, well, good shot," Albus replied, coming to a stop next to me. He was breathing heavily as well. I as about to thank him, before his face hardened. "Except for the tiny fact that it was illegal. We need a _clean_ game, Nick. You know how Wood is, he'll be watching us like hawks. Go run a lap." I cursed. Albus had decided I had an "issue" with illegal hits, and now every time I committed a foul he made me run a lap. It. was. hell. So I cursed him out. "Now that's two, Nick!"

Damn.

"If you learned to make legal hits, love, you wouldn't be in this situation," he pointed out, smiling. Everyone, including Rhys, (also known as Mr. Emotionless) chuckled a little at this.

"Oh har, har," I commented dryly, before diving down and jumping off my broom. It would have been perfect had I not tripped and managed to do a complete flip. I landed on my feet, though!

Everyone else seemed to think that the flip was planned, so I listened to them cheer as I ran my two laps. When I was done, I simply mounted and rocketed upward, before halting and smirking right in front of Albus.

"Very good trick before, but too bad this isn't gymnastics, Nick," Albus said stiffly. Nick laughed; during practice they often fought like this. It was all fun and games, a challenge to see who would snap and yell first. (I usually lost)

"And it isn't the ballet, either, _Allie_," I said sweetly, referring to a few moments before when I had almost knocked him off his broom, but he literally twirled in the air to avoid it.

"Let's get back to practiscing. I want to see 'Merlin' again. We need to perfect it if we have any chance of beating Gryffindor," Al ordered, and I groaned. 'Merlin' was our hardest play, and everyone had some sort of crazy and tricky task. I believe I had to play as a defender on a chaser while trying to take out their keeper at the same time. (and I probably had the simplest role).

"I'm all for strategy and whatnot, but what's the point? If your sister gets the snitch, then they win. If you get the snitch, we win," Jasper pointed out quietly. Many others nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to win?" Albus asked, looking at each and everyone else. "Then start acting like it. It isn't all about me; if we can hold them to lower points, it'll make them angry. Then they start to make mistakes, and then my brother puts pressure on my sister. She doesn't like that. Also, if we can master this play, I guarantee you it will work every single time. And if we stay 150 ahead, it doesn't matter who catches the snitch," Albus reasoned, though his eyes were cold.

"But it's _Gryffindor_," Paige started. "Do you really think we have a chance? They beat us by three hundred points last year. "

"So? Have you been hearing what's been going on the past month? We're slowly gaining points, and I think we have a chance. Have you seen yourselves play? We're actually working as a _team_ this year, which is why I do think we have a chance. Now let's cut this horribly clichéd dung and practice," Albus ordered, and I nodded in agreement. We were going to _win_.

"All right then. Let's get going, we only have half an hour before Gryffindor comes to practice." I kicked off hard, newly determined. I was going to win this match if it killed me.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE CANCELLING THE MATCH?" I exclaimed, staring the Gryffindor team in the face. Albus stood just in front of me, his face calm but his fists clenched.

"Lily hurt herself in Potions, and she won't be out of the Hospital Wing till Monday. We can't play without our seeker, so they're rescheduling the match," James explained smugly. "_And_ Lewis is failing Charms, so he can't play either."

"Nick was failing Defencse for a while, and they let the matches go on," Albus shot back. My face burned with embarrassment, and I kicked Al sharply in the back of his knee.

"Well, these are _special _circumstances, Potter," Albus's brother said coldly.

"You do realisze the last name thing loses all its effect when _you _have the same name," Kenzie said dryly.

"What did you say?" James spat. He loved shooting insults and acting tough, but when someone stood up to him, he was lost. Ah, Gryffindors.

"I said 'you do realisze the last name thing loses all its effect when your last name is Potter as well'," Kenzie repeated, not backing down. Did I ever tell you how much I love that kid?

"I heard you, I was just confirming the facts before I hex you into next week," James threatened, and Albus actually laughed.

"I'd like to see you try, dear brother," he chortled, and I surveyed the scene with mild interest. I was more concerned about how the match was cancelled, after _everything _we had done.

"He's a fourth year. James can easily take him," one of the Chasers said, drawing his wand.

"With six of you behind him? How brave," I inputted commented sarcastically. "Put it away," I ordered, glaring intensely at the Gryffindor.

"What are you going to do about it?" he taunted.

"Nothing, unless you decide to do something you'll regret with it. Then I'll sadly have to be the one to tell your parents what became of their _charming_ little boy," I shot back. Al instinctively grabbed my wand arm, preventing me from drawing it.

"That's right, Albie. Keep your-" but Albus didn't let his brother finish his comment, which was probably very derogatory and insulting. (not to mention directed at me).

"Just leave. Get off the pitch. My team has to practice," Albus dismissed coldly, starting to turn around. He shot me a look saying that I shouldn't engage further. Just because I could get arrested . . . horrible reasoning, in my opinion. We all knew I'd end up in Azkaban eventually, why not get it over with?

"No, it isn't. Or have you forgotten, _snake_, that it's our practice time?" James said coldly, grabbing his brother's shoulder and turning him around. Albus didn't wince, nor show that he was angered in any way. I, however, was about to beat the magic out of the lot of them. Then set Lottie and Thomas on them.

"Fine. Come on, you lot, let's go work on strategics. Meet me in the common room," Albus said, throwing his brother a contemptuous look before turning around and walking off the pitch. "Round up the Bludgers, Nick, Rhys," he added, a trace of a smile in his eyes. I then knew what I had to do.

"That's right. Go run and hide, that's what you snakes do best," one called after Albus. He didn't retaliate, or even turn around. Seriously, why did _we_ have to take the moral high ground? Wasn't that _Gryffindor's _job, so we Slytherins could go plot the world's destruction in peace?

So the rest of the team set off after Albus, while I was stuck trying to find the bloody Bludgers with Rhys. I knew what I would do when I found one, though, the Gryffindors jeering at us from the pitch. Rhys looked like he was just going to go down there and smash their heads in with his bat. I'd help. They were being incredibly obnoxious and infuriating, but even I had to give their taunts props for creativity and general dirtiness.

Finally, I found one of the Bludgers, and whacked it as hard I could at Albus's pig of a brother. He yelped and caught it with his stomach, struggling with it to lock it away. As soon as he managed the feat, Rhys sent the other one at him, and he swore vividly. Rhys and I just flew calmly away, but I was grinning from ear to ear. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

* * *

"You know, that might not have been the best decision," Rhys said calmly. He usually observed things with little to no opinion, and almost always from behind a book. Rhys wanted work somewhere in the Ministry, so he was trying his hardest to get straight O's. And he would, he was a bloody genius. There was a reason Lottie and Thomas minioned recruited them.

"Yeah, but who cares? They're not going to tell; it would hurt James Potter's ego too much," I pointed out.

"There is a point, there, but James Potter has a particular vendetta against you, Al, Piper, and apparently me this year. He would do _anything_ to destroy us, and by default, our plan," Rhys reasoned, but I was thinking about the first statement.

"Since when has James Potter _not_ had a vendetta against us?" I questioned, very confused.

"Not like this year. You forget, Nick, that even though James Potter plans to go pro for Quidditch, his backup is in the Ministry. We're in every class together, so I know it's been taken to the extremes this year. But on an entirely different James Potter subject: did you hear he's been hell bent on breaking up your cousin and his? You know, your mates in Gryffindor?" Rhys asked, and my eyes widened. _No_ one would break up Rose and Scorpius, because they (much like Al and Piper) were too damn cute, and actually helped me retain a little faith in the world.

"No. He cannot do that," I said seriously, actually stopping walking. Rhys sighed.

"I know, but I'm merely pointing out the facts. James is obsessively Gryffindor, which leads me to believe the hat considered other houses, and probably thinks of Scorpius as a Slytherin, because of whatever lies his uncles have fed him about the Malfoys," Rhys reasoned.

"I mean, come on: if you're going to go 'evil dark wizard', at least go with a family that actually _did _something in the war," I said. I know for a fact my grandad murdered no less than twenty Muggles on his own . . . not even with other people.

"I'm betting on him being a Huffle . . . park . . . li. . .son . . . john . . . what are they called again?" he asked, and because it was Rhys, I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. How come he always had that bloody serious look on his face?

"James Potter is_ not _a Hufflepuff. Some of _them_ are actually halfway decent . . ." I found myself saying, wondering why on earth I was mentally bringing _Owen Dalton_ into this conversation.

"Hmm . . . since when are you a badger-lover?" Rhys asked, smirking slightly. "The last I remember, you were plotting with Charlotte and Thomas how best to destroy them."

"I'm not," I deflected, but I didn't meet his eyes.

"This is just a theory . . . but I think you've come to _like_ a certain Puff and or Puffs," Rhys mused, and I scoffed.

"Please murder me if I ever make nice with a _group_ of them," I replied, twisting my face.

"It seems I am mistaken. You still harbour your grudge," Rhys replied, ever calm.

"What grudge?" I ground out from between my teeth.

"See? You still obviously hate them. But I still sense a weakness somewhere-" Rhys started, but I had had enough.

"Leave it, Rhys," I said coldly, and we finished the walk in silence.

* * *

"We need to set this in motion," Lottie said, her low whisper rising to a shout, which I could hear from across the common room. I, sitting with Al and Piper, was procrastinating doing my Potions. (Instead I was doodling on the side of Al's essay, but he wasn't paying attention. He was _supposed_ to be helping Piper with her Defencse essay, but both idiots were laughing at something stupid Al said.) Ah, the joys of The Mating Ritual.

"I told you, Lottie, we need to take this slow. It won't work unless we do: we need to plant the seed and let it _grow_, not freaking engorgio it," Thomas retorted. Now they had my full attention . . . forget Al and Piper and Potions. This was _much_ more interesting.

"But if we don't act now, it won't have as much effect. They're in a weak spot," Lottie reasoned, though her voice was still quite loud. "_They _are already fighting, and if we completely obliterate them, the entire house will crumble. Then we plant it in their ear that_they _caused it, while telling _them_ about the you-know-what caused by _that _house, and we have our three-way slugfest." Lottie had been pointing at different parts of a large diagram, while Thomas looked at it thoughtfully.

"I see," Thomas mused. "_But_ . . . how are we going to do all that? How soon do you think we act?" Thomas asked, his face creased in concentration. Lottie leaned closer.

"Tonight." Her voice was deadly calm. "It's when they're weakest. If we wait even another day . . . it won't have the same effect. We can do it, Tom, I know we can." Lottie's eyes were pleading, but Thomas was still sckeptical.

"Nick . . ."

My mind was trying to piece together their plan, because they had lowered their voices so I couldn't hear them. The past few weeks they had been way too secretive for my liking.

"Nick . . ."

What were they going to do? Slytherin was slowly gaining points, but the other house's hourglass were still about twice as full. I didn't see how the other houses could lose that many points. Yet again . . . it was Lottie and Thomas. _Never_ underestimate them.

"Nick!" Piper shouted, breaking my thought train.

"Huh?" I asked, and Al laughed.

"You were only staring into space for two solid minutes," Albus replied, before looking at his essay. "What did you_ do_ to it?" he gasped. I rolled my eyes.

"Nothing much. Just a little margin doodling," I shrugged, glancing at Lottie and Thomas. They were bent over the papers, shut away from the world once more. I really wanted to know their plan! It was _killing _me, I can't just bloody sit by and watch while the other houses get in a three way brawl!

"I can't turn it in now! You drew Professor Creevey prancing around with flowers in his hair on it!" He exclaimed, and Piper chuckled a little.

"It's fine, Al. Here," Piper said, smiling, before waving her wand. My doodles disappeared.

"I happened to have worked very hard on those, thank you!" I objected, but Piper frowned.

"What about your essay?" she asked, glancing over at my paper. It was still only a quarter of a foot. "Nick! He said _three feet _by tomorrow!"

"I'm trying! It's just that . . ." I started, but I couldn't finish. How could I explain the fact that I had no idea how to explain the properties of the Draught of Living Death to the girl with straight O's?

"You don't get it," a voice materialiszed next to me. It was Alyssa. "It's simple, really. I'll help you if you want, but-" just then an argument broke out.

"We can't do it! I can't be ten places at once, Charlotte!" Thomas exclaimed, standing up. He _never_ called her Charlotte.

"It's the only way!" Lottie retorted, but Rhys had stood up.

"Or . . . you two could do your essays like you were supposed to _two hours ago_," Rhys scolded. "If your marks slip . . ." Rhys let the threat hang in the air. The Rookwoods and Davises were very strict, especially with marks. They were highly disappointed with their children, especially when they learned that Lottie and Thomas had exploded Gryffindor tower instead of studying for exams.

"Then my mum will ask me if I've been taking illegal drugs instead of doing my essays, I'll laugh and say yes, my mum will go crazy, wailing about where she went wrong with parenting, before threatening to feed me to her pet dragon," Lottie finished in a lazy tone.

"Her mum wouldn't _really _say that, would she?" Flynn asked me, looking up from the game of wizard's chess he was playing with Alyssa on the floor of the common room. Very surprisingly, Flynn was winning.

"Oh no, that's exactly how she'd phrase it, but in a much more terrifying tone. I remember when she and Thomas owled us after exploring her place, scrawling something about a dragon and a secret room," Alyssa said cheerfully. "Lottie's mum threatens to feed her to the dragon quite a lot. She never has, though." Flynn looked torn between laughing and asking more questions.

"Seriously, what are you two doing?" Al asked. Several others nodded their agreement.

"Nothing, Lord Aldemort," they said (quite mock innocently) in sync. Al groaned, and they grinned. Then Lottie turned to Thomas.

"Maybe we _should_ let them help. It's the only way . . . and it can be the first family game night year!" Every year we had days where we got the entire house together and generally just goofed around. There were certain special traditions, my favourite being Halloween, but those were special.

"Lottie, there's two things wrong with that statement. A, we _can't_ let them help, and b, Halloween is_ always_ the first get together. It's tradition," Thomas countered, and I glanced at Al and Piper. Halloween was only two weeks away! I saw Piper's face light up: Halloween really was the best. I'm not giving away any secrets now, however.

"I'll help, if you tell me what's going on," Al volunteered, and I nodded.

"Me, too," I added.

"Not you," Al said, turning to me.

"Why not?" I argued. Al was being bloody overprotective again.

"What if you get caught?" he asked, but I didn't back down.

"I won't. I've done this before, Al, I know what I'm doing," I reminded him, and (very surprisingly) Al let the matter go.

"No one's doing _anything_ until their essays are done," Rhys ordered, so we all turned to Alyssa pleadingly. She was our elected leader, whereas her twin was more of a dictator. Therefore, whenever we did not like Rhys's judgement, we turned to her.

"We'll do them later, we promise. But if our plan has any chances of working, it needs to be tonight," Thomas appealed, his voice steely calm.

"Rhys," Alyssa started, looking her twin in the eyes. "Maybe you should let them. From what it sounds like, I think it's going to be bloody fantastic if it works." I had forgotten that they had to approve it all with Alyssa and Rhys. Why didn't I just ask them?

"Fine, but Nick . . ." Rhys conceded, except for me. I glared at him.

"It's not like I'm new at this. Who got Professor Creevey's underwear last year? Without getting caught?" I reminded him. Al's lips twitched, and I knew I had won.

"Fine," he conceded, and though he tried to sound sullen, he was smiling. He loved Piper and all, but plotting and pranking was his and my thing. Piper just got too nervous.

"If you're caught, it's on your head," Rhys agreed, giving me a warning look. It's then that I squealed with joy and hugged both him and Al.

Yeah right. I don't do public displays of affection . . . or hugs. I was happy, though, so I smiled at Al.

"All right . . . so here's the plan," Lottie started darkly, and Al and I looked each other in the eyes. It was going to be_ wicked_.

* * *

"Thank you lot so much," Thomas thanked us some five hours later as I collapsed onto a couch in the common room. "It's going to be brilliant. We'll see everything tomorrow morning."

"It better be worth it. I still have that bloody essay to do," Lottie mumbled. When Lottie was tired, her attitude tended to take a very large dip, and I expected she was exhausted right now.

"Me, too," I said, though my voice was muffled. (I didn't have the energy to lift it out of the sofa)

"No you don't." At first, I didn't believe it. Piper wouldn't have done my essay for me. She was very opposed to cheating! (that's why when I first met her I thought she going to be a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw)

"Piper . . . I love you," I exclaimed, but I snuck a glance at Al. His eyes darkened just slightly. That meant he was mildly annoyed. Progress!

"Alyssa did most of it. She said it wouldn't be realistic if I did it, because she said, and I quote 'you're too bloody smart, Piper'. So she, who said she remembered probably what Nick would know, finished it," Piper explained, so I looked at Alyssa, who was smiling sheepishly next to Rhys. (I couldn't believe they were both still up: it must have been at least two o'clock in the morning)

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed, but Alyssa just smiled.

"I was just doing my duty to Slytherin. Oh yeah, and some of the fourth years helped you and Tom on yours, so you lot should go sleep," Rhys ordered, once again taking on the role of the parent.

"Yeah. Especially since the N.E.W.T. students have to start planning Halloween tomorrow," Alyssa piped in, and Al, Piper, and I groaned. I had forgotten we actually had to do some work in the family this year.

"And we have Quidditch at six," Al felt the need to remind me. I groaned, burying my head into the couch. I'm pretty sure Al tried talking to me, but I had pulled a pillow over my head, effectively blocking out all the noise. I did manage to catch this, but I wasn't sure what it meant before it was too late.

"Who gets the honours?" Al asked.

"I'm not lugging her all the way to their dorm," Alyssa deflected.

"She'll never leave otherwise," Rhys said wisely. "And she can't sleep on the sofa like_that_."

"Fine," Al sighed, and the next thing I knew, I was slung over Al's shoulder, being carried to my dorm. Unlike Gryffindor, Slytherin trusted that his students were smart enough not to do anything _completely_ stupid, so boys and girls could enter each other's dorms as they pleased.

Anyways, Al dropped me unceremoniously on my bed, before calling something about Quidditch and leaving the room while swore at him. Eventually, when I was sure he was out of range, I stopped, spreading out on my bed.

It had been a long night . . . but it was worth it.

Tomorrow was going to be _brilliant_.

**Chapter End Notes:**

Thanks, and please review!


	9. (Hypothetically) Things Fall Apart

"You _slept _with James? He's_ my _boyfriend!" I heard a female voice shriek.

My head snapped up at the noise. I was in the Great Hall after one of the worst Quidditch practices of my life. Since we're playing Ravenclaw in a month, Al had to completely change our strategy, and we had to learn _twenty_ new plays. All today. And I had to run exactly fifteen laps for general cheek as well as 'illegal' hits. Add that on the fact I had gotten three hours of sleep, and I was basically taking a kip on my empty plate. But at that voice . . . everything changed.

I looked at my fellow Slytherins; they were all successfully suppressing their smiles. Our plan was starting to take action.

"Not anymore, _Layla._ Or should I say-" then the conversation turned ugly, in which a lot of bad, derogatory, and generally mean words were said. Before we knew it the girls were duelling, their friends taking sides, and slowly dragging in more and more Gryffindors. The best part about this was that it was only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. Wait until they saw what we had in store for them in a few minutes, and the rest of the day. Lottie and Thomas were absent from our table, getting ready to unleash the next part.

In truth, Lottie and Thomas were pure genius. They had found every single chink in the other houses' armour, _and_ a way to hit every single one, with only a few (more like fifty) necessary objects, spells, schemes, or classified pieces of information.

"James, I thought you loved _me_!" the first girl managed through her tears, which were black from her make-up.

"Speed it up a little," Al muttered from beside me. "I didn't get those photographs, which by the way were_ disgusting_, watching my brother do_ that_-"

"-Or find all those explosives-" I interjected helpfully. Albus nodded.

"-for nothing," he finished.

"And don't forget the knickers, or the fairies who bites hurt like hell." Yes, Al and I were whining like Hufflepuffs. Did we care? No.

We. Were. Tired. ('Nuff said.)

"Is someone on their-" Piper started, with exaggerated sympathy. I cut her off with a sharp kick to her shin.

"What the hell, Nick?" So it was Albus's shin I kicked. I really should work on my aim. Unluckily, my trainer flew off, and Albus quickly grabbed it from under the table. "You will never get your trainer back!" he proclaimed dramatically. I shot him a death glare; I was_not_ in the mood.

"Shut it . . . it's about to get good," I muttered, turning to the Gryffindor table, but Albus was inspecting my trainer. Its soles were peeling off, and the navy colour was almost unrecognisable under all the dirt and other various stains.

"You need new trainers," he said distastefully, handing me it back, trying to touch the least amount of it possible, as if it carried some deadly curse. I simply held a finger in the air; I was trying to pay attention for what I knew was coming.

**BANG! **

Anyone who's attentions weren't on the full out duel at the Gryffindor table were suddenly reverted to the Head table. Where exactly 2,367 fairies (who were quite horny, thanks to Lottie - she thought it would make them more _interesting_ and apparently violent) were swarming the tables, attacking anything and everything in sight. Including our table, but seeing as though Lottie was the one who put exactly 234 hours (or so she said) into training them, it only _looked_ like they were attacking us. This was Rhys's cue. He let it go on a little longer before bellowing:

"_Eieci eos omnes_!" And suddenly, the fairies were gone. All that was left was a box, padded with a Hufflepuff bed sheet. Thank Merlin Thomas got that particular object; I had never set foot in the Badger's den, and planned to keep it that way.

This may all seem highly confusing and random, but Lottie and Thomas's logic was actually quite clever. You see, because Rhys saved the entire Hogwarts' population from the fairy bites, which I as previously mentioned hurt like _hell_, we would gain points. Also, the bed sheet would lead the professors to suspect the Hufflepuffs. Then they would ask the house elves who was mysteriously missing bed sheets, or had asked for more, and they would find that the Hufflepuff's Quidditch Captain had been missing his bed sheets this morning.

This was after the captain of the Ravenclaw team got into a shouting match with the Hufflepuff captain, and said he would do _anything_ to make them lose. Therefore, Hufflepuff would plot its revenge on Ravenclaw, and would take the first step to the three-way slugfest. (The Gryffindor civil war was needed because they were so bloody far ahead of everyone. And we hate them.)

Yeah. I still couldn't believe two third years had planned all of this. The Gryffindors were still duelling, if anyone cares, and the professors had finally moved to break it up.

"Who started this?" Longbottom roared, clearly furious at his students. Meanwhile, Professor Zabini, who we all figured would be watching the Gryffindors fall apart with masked glee, materialized at the Slytherin table.

"Did you lot have anything to do with this?" he asked suspiciously, but we all shook our heads, looking confused as to why he'd asked that. Lottie and Thomas had reappeared, but looked as though they had just simply gone to the loo instead of unleashing vicious fairies.

"Pretty interesting, though. Who knew the Gryffindors were so scandalous," Albus said a little too innocently.

"Yeah, interesting . . ." Professor Zabini replied doubtfully. "Well, strictly hypothetically, if someone put this much care into their prank, they wouldn't leave their bedsheet lying around. And, hypothetically, since the Gryffindors have suddenly descended into a civil war, wouldn't it make sense for either the Ravenclaws or Slytherins to have planned this?"

"Those pesky Ravenclaws," I said, shaking my head. Almost no one could repress a chuckle at that, and even Professor Zabini's mouth twitched, before he regained control.

"You lot are up to something," he decided, and was met with more innocent looks. "but I'm pretty sure you're not going to tell me." Again, we stared at him as if we were confused, innocent little school-children. Professor Zabini looked highly frustrated at our act. "You lot are really starting to get creepy. _None_ of you are innocent . . . _ever_." But then the professor smiled. "Off the record, though, I think your plan, whatever it is, so far has been brilliant. Great planning, Lottie and Thomas." He nodded his head towards the two third years, looking impressed. "But on the record, you lot could lose some serious points if they found out. Not to mention detentions, probably suspension, maybe expulsion."

He knew. _How did he know?_ We did everything so secretly; it's impossible for him to know!

"That's a shame if whoever did this was caught. I wonder which Ravenclaw had the courage to pull it off," Flynn lied smoothly.

"Yeah, and with Quidditch, N.E.W.T.'s, and Halloween to plan, not to mention keeping these eejits in line, I know I don't have time to plan, much less execute something of this magnitude," Rhys added. Professor Zabini looked irritated.

"You don't have much work in third year, do you, Lottie?" he asked, and Lottie's head jerked up, obviously having dozed off.

"I don't know. I was up really late writing those d- I mean ruddy Charms and Herbology essays," she said, her real yawn adding to the effect.

"You're not going to tell me what you're doing, are you?" he said, crossing his arms in an authoritative manner. "I know you lot are up to something." He was met with hard looks.

"Well this is just brilliant, isn't it? My own house is having a mutiny," he muttered to himself. I glanced at Lottie and Thomas: this was their call. They created it, planned it, and with only a little help, are executing it.

"_Hypothetically_, if we were planning something, as a professor wouldn't you have to turn us in?" Lottie asked suspiciously, while simultaneously mocking Professor Zabini.

"Well, _hypothetically_, I would, unless there was no proof besides the words of two thirteen-year-olds, who said before they were writing essays until the early hours of the morning, and therefore could never have done anything," he replied, not missing a beat. Lottie smiled.

"Okay, we're planning something," she said cheerily. The rest of us groaned, putting our heads in our hands. She wasn't supposed to fall for it!

"I knew it!" he burst out, sounding oddly like Sherlock Holmes, or that cartoon character, Archie the Auror or something of the sort. "Wait . . . what _are_ you planning?" Lottie opened her mouth to reply, but Thomas covered it.

"We can't tell you that," Thomas said seriously, still making sure Lottie kept her ruddy mouth shut. "Bloody hell, she bit me!" he exclaimed, withdrawing his hand.

"Must have learned from Nick," Al said, at the same time I praised her.

"How did these two ever not kill each other in an epic battle that destroyed half the castle? It's like they're polar opposites," Professor Zabini mused, looking at Al and I, and Piper laughed.

"I always wondered the same thing, but then I realised how violent they were, and it all made sense," she added, and further statements of agreement arose. Al and I tried to look offended, but we both knew it was true.

"Nick and I aren't violent. See?" Al defended, before squashing me in a hug, causing me to kick his shin to get free. He's known me for six years, yet he never learned that I hate hugs. I guess he's not the brightest Hinkypunk in the swamp. "Ow!" he yelped, and I smirked.

"For someone who loves a genius, you sure are thick. You should know by now how much I hate hugs," I said simply. Both Al and Piper shot me looks of annoyance. They were clearly in denial about their passionate love. (Oops . . . I might have taken that a _little_ too far)

"Wait . . . Al loves a Ravenclaw?" Professor Zabini asked, giving us an odd look. I burst out laughing while Al's face was steadily turning a deep red, as was Piper's. The professor saw this, and a look of recognition spread across his face. "Oh . . ."

"Thank you, Nick, for making this incredibly awkward," Flynn said sarcastically.

"What can I say? It's a talent," I replied. I never backed down.

"Don't you lot have a rebellion to plan, instead of insinuating Al and Piper's might-be romance and discussing Nick's, albeit plentiful, faults?" Professor Zabini asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"But, Professor, are you implying that you approve of our hypothetical scheme?" Kenzie asked, aghast. The professor laughed.

"Aren't you lot supposed to be in class, not sitting here debating whether or not this conversation has all been hypothetical?" he replied.

"I believe you're avoiding the question, sir," Alyssa said ever politely.

"Since when have any of you actually called me sir?" he asked, looking highly offended.

"Never, sir," Al replied immediately.

"Goodbye," he said irritably, but we were not done.

"Or would you prefer Blaise, sir?" I said cheekily. Professor Zabini just laughed.

* * *

Al and I stumbled through our classes, losing a grand total of twenty points between us, but we didn't care. Everything was going perfectly, though it did surprise me how territorial Gryffindors were with their boyfriends, and how seriously Hogwarts took Quidditch.

Anyways, Al and I were heading back from our second Quidditch practice of the day, Hufflepuff having cancelled theirs because their captain was in detention. We were already late for the time Alyssa had set to plan Halloween, but we stopped when we heard two males getting into a screaming match.

"I DIDN'T DO IT, DAVIES!" James Potter shouted, obviously arguing with the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain.

"THEN WHY DID SHE QUIT?" Ah, so Davies had found out about the relationship between Lewis (beater) of Gryffindor and Skye (his seeker) of Ravenclaw. And how Kenzie had subtly hinted to the Ravenclaw she would eventually have to choose between Quidditch and Lewis.

"I DON'T BLOODY KNOW!" James shot back, and I saw Al was smirking next to me.

"THEN WHO BROKE INTO OUR COMMON ROOM AND COMPLETELY DEFILED IT, AND DESTROYED THREE THOUSAND YEAR OLD BOOKS!" Ah, they knew about that, too. Lottie and Thomas had taken care of destroying Ravenclaw's common room, because Rhys told them he didn't Al or I would even have a slim chance of getting the riddle right. He had so much faith in us it was astounding. But at least we were smarter than James; I wasn't even sure James knew what the word defiled meant.

"I. DIDN'T. DO. IT. IN FACT . . ." James said slowly, before suddenly trailing off, but Al still looked positively gleeful. It wasn't often that James Sirius Potter _completely_ lost it.

"Watch yourself, Potter," Davies said ominously, before stalking off. Unfortunately, it was towards the corner Al and I were hiding behind. Needless to say we scampered.

* * *

"What do you mean the furniture is on the roof?" I heard a voice ask as Al and I continued making our way to the common room. Why the hell was it always James bloody Potter?

"I don't know. All I know is that somehow all of it, beds and all, is on the roof!" Al's cousin Molly replied. Both Al and I and Thomas and Lottie had to do that during lunch, seeing as they had so many students (therefore, a lot of beds). It also helped that Al and I knew where the entrance to the roof was from our many detentions.

"Who would do this?" James asked, livid. "As if we don't have enough to worry about, with-"

"-your bloody stalkers creating an intra house war?" Molly finished. "Seriously, James, how thick are you? _Three_ of them? At the same time? Even your brother isn't-"

"I don't give a damn about my brother. Now who the hell did this?" he asked, obviously still a bit peeved at his little argument with Davies. I instinctively glanced at Al, who looked indifferent, but I knew that somewhere beneath his cool demeanour that actually hurt him. Believe me, from someone who knows, you can get used to being unwanted, but it still hurts a little each time someone confirms it.

"I was getting there, keep your shirt on. When I went up there to check it out, the banner of the lion wasn't there. In its place was a badger. That means-" but James didn't let her finish.

"Those ruddy Hufflepuffs," he replied, looking murderous. Al and I exchanged smiles and high-fives.

We had our three way slugfest. Give it until Halloween and the houses will all be losing to us. And they probably wouldn't realize a thing.

* * *

"Dear Merlin, is it impossible for you two to be on time _once_ in your lives?" Rhys asked as we fell into the common room. I had tripped on the last stair, and seeing as though I was behind Albus, it looked like I'd tackled him. So, Al, thinking it was a competition, tried to pin me down. I rolled away, but Al grabbed my ankle, pulling me back. He was laughing, and so was I (not to mention everyone else in the common room). I struggled and squirmed, and Al let go, so I crawled towards Rhys, Alyssa, and Piper. But then Al pulled me back again, now turning the wrestling match into a race.

"Oi! Stop acting like two-year-olds and get over here!" Alyssa called, and we both stopped, for about two seconds. It was then that Alyssa's bright red hair made its way over to us. I realized how you would never be able to tell that she and Rhys were related, much less identical, if you didn't know them. Rhys was tall, tan, and lean, but not scrawny, with dark brown hair to match his bespectacled eyes. Alyssa, on the other hand, was only an inch or two taller than me, and I'm only five four(ish). She had bright red hair and extremely pale skin, but her eyes were the same as Rhys's.

"But, Alyssa, we're just having a bit of fun," Al whined, sitting up.

"Yeah, well, that won't plan Halloween, will it?" she replied peevishly. I got up and walked over, still smiling, and Al followed. Piper ruffled Al's hair.

"Good boy," she cooed, as if she were talking to a dog. Al responded by waggling his tongue. Piper squirmed, and Al said something about dogs licking people. Piper squealed, and Al licked her.

_What?_

"Why in the name of Slytherin's bright green boxers did you just lick Piper?" Rhys asked, astounded.

"She called me a dog. Dogs lick people," Al explained, shrugging. Rhys groaned.

"You lot need to grow up," he grumbled, but the three of us just grinned impishly.

"Guess what Al and I saw today?" I burst out, changing the subject.

"If it had _anything_ to do with either Ravenclaws, Quidditch, or James Pothead, sorry Al, Potter, then I don't want to hear it," Alyssa said tiredly.

"Down, girl," Rhys said, smirking.

"But it's good! And it's not just about those three things; it is to do with the plan!" I exclaimed, and Piper looked impressed.

"You managed to hit all three? That's impressive," she remarked.

"Fine, Nick, tell your stupid story," Alyssa grumbled. And so I did. When I was done, there wasn't a person there not grinning.

"I can't believe it. It's actually working," Rhys said, glancing at Lottie and Thomas. Thomas was working on an essay while Lottie simply slept. "Who would have thought their elaborate schemes would pay off one day?"

"Not me," his twin replied, before cursing. "We're already behind schedule. We need to plan this thing."

And so we did. We were confident it was going to be brilliant.

No, it was going to be _wicked_. Geddit? Wicked … Halloween?

Ah well, I'm tired.

"You are _not_ falling asleep down here again. The dorm is so creepy when it's empty," Piper said, before standing up and walking down the hall to our room. I saw Al's gaze follow her, but I said nothing. I just followed her.

I just needed to bloody sleep.


	10. Halloween

"You know, Nick, I'm surprised you asked me to do this," Owen said casually, leaning against his elbows on the floor of the Astronomy Tower. I had asked him to bum around with me because almost everyone else was preparing for Halloween, and Rhys, Alyssa, and Piper had decreed that neither Al nor I were trustworthy enough to help, but they needed a fourth person. Rhys then proceeded to declare he would not be left alone for five hours with three girls.

So . . . I got the boot. Rose and Scorpius were on a date by the lake, so I had no other choice but to call upon the Hufflepuff.

"Oh, shut it," I replied, but for some odd reason I was fighting a smile. Why did I want to smile? I never smiled. "We're only here because-"

"Your mates don't trust you enough to help with whatever shebang you snakes are planning for Halloween," he said in a monotone, before his face creased in thought. "Why do you lot take this holiday so seriously, anyways?"

"It's a tradition. We always do the same thing on Halloween, but each year it's still different. Don't you badgers have any traditions?" I asked. I hated to admit it, but it was nice. Just talking with him, not worrying about Professor Creevey or N.E.W.T. Charms.

"We're a pretty big house, and there's actually a lot of fights. We're not nearly as close-knit as you lot are. But I suppose it's easier when there's three of you in a year compared to fifteen," Owen mused, before brushing his light-brown hair out of his eyes. He looked incredibly at ease, something I never was. I was always on edge; I never let my guard down. Owen, however, he never had a guard up to begin with. It was infuriating.

"I forgot," I said simply, before realizing something extremely important. "I don't know anything about you, besides that you're name is Owen Dalton, you're a Hufflepuff, you smile way too much, and you're bloody good at Charms," I told him, sitting up and frowning. It was only mid-afternoon, but the view was still incredible from the tower.

"I'm actually pretty boring, to be honest. I live in London with my parents, who own an apothecary. I announce the Quidditch matches. I have an older brother, Liam, but he graduated two years ago. He's nineteen. He's also adopted, but it doesn't really matter," he told me, and I probably looked wistful. He was so lucky ... and his brother was even luckier. "What about you? All I know about you is that you're a moody Slytherin who is hopeless at Charms. In fact, I'm not even sure I know your last name," he asked, smiling. See? He's _always _smiling!

"It's Warrington. And my name actually isn't Nick, it's Nicole. My parents are . . ." I hesitated. Even mentioning my parents could ruin whatever it was I had with Owen. (friendship? tolerance?) It had with every single home I'd been in. But I couldn't help but feel Owen was different, that I was able to trust him, so I took a calming breath. "My parents are in Azkaban. I don't have any siblings, or if I do I've never met them." Owen's face creased, but he didn't say anything. He knew I didn't want his pity. "But I guess Al's like a brother, Merlin knows we fight enough. And Piper is definitely the person who knows me the best. And Scorpius is ... well ... Scorpius." Owen didn't say anything for a while, but I could tell he was deep in thought.

"I think Nicole's a pretty name," he said finally, before smiling. I let out a sigh of relief and he cracked up.

"You don't know how worried I was that you would-" I started, but again, the stupid Hufflepuff knew.

"-start a pity fest? You're like my brother; he never wanted to tell anyone he was adopted," he finished, smiling. And for some odd reason, I returned it. "Dear Merlin, the apocalypse is coming!" he declared, jumping up. "Nicole Warrington just smiled!"

Normally, if anyone besides Al or Piper had said that, I would have either hexed them or punched them in the face. But I found myself laughing instead. _What?_

"It's true, Nicole," he said seriously. "You need to smile more. It makes you look prettier, which Merlin knows you need," he teased.

"Quit it with the Nicole," I growled, but I ignored the taunt. "My name is Nicole, but I prefer Nick."

"But _I _prefer Nicole," he retorted, still smiling. This smiling was starting to get on my nerves.

"I'll make you a deal. If, and only if, you can go the next Charm's class without smiling, you can call me Nicole," I offered darkly, sticking out my hand. Owen looked apprehensive.

"I don't know. Smiling is good for you, and that just sounds bloody depressing," he said nervously, but I could sense a smile creeping up his cheeks. I smiled, and then he broke.

"See! You can't even make it twenty seconds!" I exclaimed, and Owen's face hardened.

"You're on," he said, and we shook on it. He would never call me Nicole again. "Nicole," he added, and I groaned.

"Are all Hufflepuffs this annoying?" I asked, and he looked offended. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do all Slytherins never smile?" he asked, and I nodded. He threw up his arms. "Is there no way to win with you?" he asked, and I nodded. I still didn't smile, no matter how bloody goofy his grin was. "I know how to make you smile," he said mischievously, and I rolled my eyes. Before I knew it, though, he was spinning me around in a hug.

And I laughed.

"I win!" he proclaimed, still spinning me around, and I let him have this round.

In truth, I had forgotten how to relax and be happy for thirty seconds. And Owen Dalton just showed me how. _What?_

"You're blushing," he remarked, and I looked down. I really needed new trainers. "You need new trainers, love, but we'll have to debate that later, my mates and I have some serious Halloween pranking to do. See you in Charms, _Nicole_?" he asked, still smiling, and I just nodded. He left, and I still couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

What was wrong with me?

I couldn't deny that it felt good, though. I can't remember the last time I had smiled for more than two seconds, and even then it wasn't nearly as wide or goofy. Owen Dalton seemed to have a weird effect on me. I sat there mulling it over, still smiling, and right when I came to the conclusion that Hufflepuffs were of more use as live targets than students, I was rudely interrupted.

"Do you have a fever? Do I need to take you to the Hospital Wing?" my _wonderful_ cousin Scorpius mock-gushed. I smacked him, effectively wiping away my, and his, smile.

"Why aren't you on your date with Rose?" I asked, hoping he hadn't seen anything.

"She has to get ready for the big costume party James is throwing in the common room. He's only doing it so all the girls put on-" he started, but I gave him a look to cut him off. "Anyways, I thought you'd be moping up here, all by your lonesome, and I come up here to find a certain Hufflepuff swinging around while you _laugh_? Are you under the influence, Nicki?"

"I bloody well am not," I scoffed, but Scorpius just laughed. Was it just me who was always so uptight, or were Scorpius and Owen just loony?

"It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that," he confessed, now starting to look concerned.

"I think Nick might fancy someone. I've never seen you blush so much," Rose said, smiling knowingly after materializing next to us, placing a light kiss on Scorpius's cheek. "Scorpius really did come up here because he thought you'd be moping, Nick," she told me, still smiling. I knew someone had a good time on their date. Rose Weasley could be as serious as me sometimes, but Scorpius seemed to be able to turn her into a blushing schoolgirl. "I really have to go now, Scorp. See you at the party." She planted another kiss, this time on the mouth, before disappearing.

"Good time on your date, eh?" I asked, bumping Scorpius with my shoulder a little. He just smiled.

"She's amazing. She's beautiful, smart, beautiful, amazing, and beautiful," he replied, and I laughed a little.

"Way out of your league then?" I asked lightly. Scorpius smiled, but it was more strained.

"But she is. She's way too good for me. I'm a Malfoy for Merlin's sake. I think I love her," he admitted, and I put my arm around him. Despite my strong view that love didn't exist, I felt happy for Scorpius, and needed to fix this before Scorpius messed it up.

"Rose is the lucky one," I whispered in his ear, giving him a squeeze.

"Thanks, Nick," he said sincerely. "I don't understand why people think you're an ice box. You're one of the sweetest people I know," he told me, kissing the top of my head. "You're like my sister, you know that, right?" he asked. I never told Al and Piper this, but Scorpius knew what was going on.

I hadn't told him like I had them, because believe me, I would never burden innocent Scorpius with that if I could have avoided it. No, he had been visiting his grandmother with his family and had found me unconscious on a park bench in the middle of the night (yeah, I didn't know what they were doing out either). That was the sixth time I'd run, the summer after second year. He'd freaked out and gotten his dad to apparate me to St. Mungo's, and there the healers (who I'm on a first name basis with) had told them my history, and my worst visit . . . after _him_. So Scorpius didn't know the full story, but he knew quite a bit.

"I'm fine, Scorpius, really. Better than I have been in a while," I admitted quietly, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I know, Nick. Believe me, I know," he murmured, and I just relaxed. What could I say? Today was a weird day. It was probably because it was bloody Halloween.

We just sat there a while, making fun of all our professors until it turned to the house war.

"I can't believe you lot are actually winning this thing! It's weird . . ." he remarked, before his eyes lit up. "It's like it's a conspiracy or something." I didn't reply. "You didn't, Nick, tell me you didn't," he almost pleaded with me.

"It wasn't me," I said, half-truthfully. It was Lottie and Thomas who planned it. I just helped a little, that's all.

"The third years?" Scorpius asked. I really needed to monitor my thoughts better. "That's impressive. They planned all of it?" I nodded, and he grinned.

"Ruddy snakes," he swore, but his smile cancelled out the insult.

"Don't you have a costume party to go to? The one I helped Rose pick out a certain sassy Robin Hood for?" I asked him, and Scorpius looked positively gleeful.

"She really bought . . . wow. Her dad . . ." Scorpius said breathlessly.

"Yeah. It goes with her hair, as well as 'I'm going to kill you if you don't pass the next essay' side of her," I remarked, having known that side all too well. "Go get 'em, tiger," I encouraged, and Scorpius stumbled out of the tower.

"Thanks, Nick! Oh yeah, and Al said you can go back to the dungeons!" he called. "And I'm telling him about the whole smiling thing, _Nicole_!" Then he left, and I meandered down to the dungeons, where Al was waiting. He looked ready to tear his hair out, but his face lit up when he saw me.

"You look . . . dare I say it? _Happy_? It's like you're glowing with something besides moodiness . . . did you talk to Fred? 'Cause I'm pretty sure he's selling fairy dust," he asked in a confusing rush, and I smiled at him. Genuinely. "And there, witches and wizards, was the rare Nick smile. Thought to be extinct, it has made a rare appearance."

"You sound like the Hufflepuff," I muttered, but Al just grinned broader.

"So that's why you're smiling," he replied knowingly, but I shot him a look.

"Yeah, me and Owen talked for a while. But I was actually just talking to Scorpius," I told him, but Al looked sceptical.

"Just go to your dorm. Piper's freaking out; she doesn't think she'll have you ready in time," Al ordered, and the smile slid off my face like stinksap.

"What? I'm not wearing a costume like those stupid Gryffindors," I told him, and Al sighed.

"It's for the you-know-what. We're all doing it. Come on, Nicki, or Piper'll have my head," he whined, and I sighed.

"Fine, but I'm not looking like a tart," I conceded, and Al smiled.

"You're the best, Nick, and I like seeing you smile," he replied, running his hand through his hair.

What was with these people? It wasn't like I walked around with a thunderstorm following me around . . . right?

"No, you just never smile, love," Rhys called from across the common room. "And you didn't say it; I just knew what you were thinking. You're eyes are like a billboard." Al laughed, and so did I.

"Do we need to use a breathalyzer spell on you, Nick?" Kenzie asked worriedly, looking up from his chess game with Flynn.

"No!" I exclaimed, before storming to Piper and my room. I knew they were all laughing in the common room, and it actually felt good to make someone laugh.

Merlin, I'm going soft. Someone help me. PLEASE!

Okay, maybe that was a_ tad_ melodramatic.

"Were you talking to Fred Weasley?" she asked suspiciously, turning away from the mirror in our room. She was wearing an airy dress, (no, it wasn't skimpy, it floated down well past her knees) and she had this ethereal look about her.

"No," I said sharply, before lightening up. It was Halloween, after all. "I'm just happy. Is that weird? Everyone else seems to think it is . . ." I said, plopping myself down on my bed. Piper sat next to where I was laying.

"No, it's just that it's extremely rare for you," she explained, pulling her hair up into a graceful updo.

"I take it you're . . .?" I asked, trailing off, taking in her beautiful yet creepy appearance. She nodded. "Albus is going to be speechless. You're beautiful, Piper," I told her, and if there wasn't a spell to make her appear almost transparent, she would be blushing. "You didn't deny it," I said, and Piper looked down. "You fancy Albus!" I all but screamed, and Piper laughed.

"I think I'm not the only one who fancies someone," she said quietly. "What were you doing all afternoon?" And so I told her, as she started piecing together my new identity.

"How come I have to be the bloody-" I started as she thrust the costume in my hand.

"-because you have the best creepy smile," she said hurriedly, before digging through her (actually quite extensive) morning kit. Her mother always bought her make-up for her birthday, knowing damn well that Piper almost never used it.

Ah, motherly love.

Anyways, after I was forced into that hideous costume, which was actually around the same length as my school skirt, just much more transparent, Piper came at me with the make-up. Needless to say I tried to bolt.

"Al!" Piper called as I opened the door, and Al was standing there, looking smug.

"Trying to run, sweetheart?" he asked, already in his costume. Piper still had to do his face, though. "Oh yeah, and, Piper, Rhys said he'd be over here in a minute. He's still trying to figure out how to tie a tie. It's not like he has to wear one every day or anything," he called, but Piper just nodded. I looked for an escape around him, but Al had the whole bloody frame covered. So naturally I barrelled into him. He caught me though, and pinned my arms behind my back.

"How did you bloody know?" I asked, because he had obviously been expecting it.

"It's you, Nick," was Piper's reply. Al turned around, and looked at Piper. I swear to Merlin it looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Ah, clichéd young love.

"Wow, Piper, you look . . ." Al started breathlessly, before finding the word. "Perfect." Piper looked away shyly. I was really starting to hate The Mating Ritual. Thankfully, though, he let me up, and I was starting to sneak towards the door.

"_Colloportus_," Piper said, and the door squealed shut. I shot her a dirty look. "Now, are you going to play nice or does Al have to restrain you?" she asked, as if talking to a two-year-old. I growled. "All right, then. Al?" She wasn't bluffing.

"Fine, I'll be your pretty little doll!" I cry out, because I honestly don't want Al to sit on me for that long. I might die. Al smirked, and took his post by the doorframe.

"Good girl," Piper said, ruffling my hair. "Now sit still." As soon as I saw the bright red lip colour on her table, my eyes flitted to the door. Al just shook his head, but mimed cutting his head off. At least he knew how I felt.

Yet again . . . he's a bloke. I really needed some better arguments.

So I sat there, as Piper smeared what felt like a thicker version of jam on my face, then proceeded to attack me with various other instruments of torture, but I didn't say a word. When Piper finally decreed I was done, she led me over to the mirror. I was unrecognizable, but I have to say I looked pretty scary. Especially my blood-red lips, which looked like I got them by actually drinking blood.

"Piper, you're amazing," Al remarked, looking at me.

"I know. Now sit down at let me get you ready," she ordered, and Al's eyes traveled to the door.

"Trying to run, sweetheart?" I mocked him, blocking the door. He groaned, and made a rude hand gesture. "That's not ladylike. What would your mother say?" I scolded, mock-aghast, and Al stuck his tongue out at me. Then Piper smacked him lightly on the cheek, and I snickered, but my victory was ruined when Piper shot me a look of annoyance. "I'll go find Rhys," I volunteered, because Alyssa didn't have to dress up for her role. Lucky.

"No need, sugar bee," he greeted smoothly, moving to ruffle my hair until he saw my appearance. "Brilliant job, Piper. You've managed to catch Nick's exact mood and style." I growled and snapped my teeth at him, but of course it didn't faze him. It never did.

"Where's Alyssa?" I asked, because normally she'd help out Piper a bit if there was enough time.

"Rounding up the little urchins," he replied, and we launched into a discussion about Quidditch. Eventually it was Rhys's turn, and then we were ready to go. We were going to make the ickle firsties wet themselves.

* * *

"Welcome, welcome, to the spookiest night in all of Slytherin . . . Halloween!" Alyssa started in a creepy voice. She was a brilliant actress, which was why she was the narrator. (Al, Rhys, Piper, and I were all disillusioned in our designated spots around the common room) "Instead of having a party, or simply pranking, in Slytherin we have a different theme . . . fear! So listen close, as I tell you a story. If it's even a tale at all . . ." Oh, we were going to have fun with this, no matter how cliché it was. I thought we could even manage to scare the infallible Mackenzie Farley.

"Our story starts right here in Hogwarts. Before it was a school, Hogwarts Castle housed the richest man in all of England." Rhys suddenly became visible, his ghostly appearance haunting as he glared at everyone. "He was a cruel, cruel spirit, with love only for his beautiful daughter." Piper appeared, taking the arm Rhys outstretched. "But the daughter fell in love with a peasant boy, and planned to run away with him." I resisted the urge to yawn from my spot, but I had to be silent. Besides, it was going to get good. Now Al appeared, wearing shabby clothes, but he spun Piper around with obvious ease. Also, Alyssa was secretly levitating all of them. "One day, the man found them, but he didn't tell his daughter." Now Piper left, disappearing into thin air. "Instead, the man killed the peasant, having planned an engagement with another rich family." Rhys stabbed Al from behind, as he watched Piper go, who bled and flickered until he disappeared. "But what the man didn't know was that the boy was a wizard, one who could control the darkest of demons. The boy came back to life-" now Al reappeared, this time looking extremely creepy, and a few people gasped. "-and made it his mission to haunt the man for taking away his one true love. So he called upon his worst demon, a ghastly creature with razor sharp claws for nails and fangs for teeth. This demon also had wings." I cackled, rising high above the ground, my creepy costume and white face receiving scared glances. "The man had no idea what the boy had been planning," she said in a sorrowful tone. Then, the lights flickered out and died. Only Rhys glowed now.

"He thought he had saved his daughter; that the boy would bother them no more. Oh, how wrong he was." I was sneaking up behind Rhys, while Piper did some hefty charm work. The room shook, and Rhys looked around frantically. "The demon was always watching." I appeared in one corner of the room, before disappearing. Then there was some creaking sounds. Now I stood right behind Kenzie Farley, and reappeared. Someone screamed. But I was already gone, and now right behind Rhys, who was playing his part well. He looked absolutely terrified. "Finally, she made her move. I suddenly appeared right over Rhys, took his knife, and 'stabbed' him with it, just like he'd done to my master. Then I let out the creepiest cackle I could, and disappeared once more. Piper was now hurriedly making Rhys one of me. "The demon boy, who had sought revenge, was not planning on his demon going rogue." I cackled eerily behind Flynn, but when he whipped around I was gone. "He watched helplessly as she, too, was consumed by the monster." Piper appeared demented, blood staining her now bridal robes. She walked arm and arm with Al, both smiling crookedly.

"It is rumored that, to this day, they all still haunt these very halls. So if you ever hear-" I cackled again, this time from way up on the ceiling,"-beware the demon." Then the low lights flickered and died, but we all appeared in various places around the room, causing a few screams. Then the lights came all the way up. The actual story was horrible, (Al and I had made it up, so naturally it was horribly clichéd) but with the creepy effects it terrified the first years effectively enough, and the older ones held some grudging respect. Kenzie shot me a look of annoyance for appearing behind him, but I just smiled mock-innocently.

"Now, let's thank our wonderful, _willing_ actors: Rhys, Al, Piper, and Nick!" Alyssa said cheerfully, and everyone clapped loudly. We weren't done yet, though. The lights flickered out once more, and I lay in the center of the common room, apparently dead. Al stood over me, holding the knife. Then the lights came back up. Now we had our screams.

"_Now_ we're done," Alyssa said cheerfully. "Oi! You lot!" she called to us. Alyssa, as well as the rest of the house, was in their pajamas. "Go change! I'll explain to them what we're doing next!"

And so we did. Halloween always started with a horror story, and then a game. Then we sent the first and second years to bed. That was when we did what Halloween was known for in Slytherin. Secrets.

By the time we were done removing everything, the first and second years were gone from the common room. Everyone else was sitting in a circle on the floor, ready to go. Piper and I grinned, and took our spots next to Al.

"All right. Most of you know the rules, but we need to initiate the third years," Rhys said, pulling out the sacred piece of parchment. "Tonight is Halloween. We are not Gryffindors, who throw lavish parties filled with alcohol and skimpy outfits. We are not Hufflepuffs, who trade sweets. We are not Ravenclaws, who over plan all their pranks. We are Slytherins, and we deal in secrets. The rules are simple. Each person will have a turn, and will sit in the middle of the circle. Everyone else writes down a question, or an order, and you _must_answer it truthfully, or do the order, or, as Nick can testify, the consequences are . . . interesting."

Yep. Instead of playing that silly game Truth or Dare, we just force everyone to do what we want. I, however, usually ended up lying, and therefore having consequences. It was actually a lot more fun than it sounds. Especially since there was a sweet stash the size of England in the common room. We were all giggly and happy, and we are all actually a lot more close-knit after it.

"We go youngest to oldest." Rhys ordered, and the youngest third year took a seat in the middle. It was starting.

* * *

Piper and I were laughing our heads off. We had just told Kenzie to sit in Rhys's lap until Al's turn, and now Rhys was blushing like mad. Before that, people had to do some pretty hilarious things. We were all smiling, and I was munching on ice mice.

"Piper! It's your turn," Kenzie called some time later, glaring intensely at me. I shrugged, and wrote down my 'order' for her. Piper looked at everyone's, and her face turned beet red. She mumbled something, probably because I had blackmailed everyone to tell her to sit next to Al, cuddling, (like they had been before but . . . still) for the rest of the game. Piper obliged, shooting a glare at me.

"Well, you lot are boring," Rhys remarked from under Kenzie, giving me a look. "Nick!" I groaned, rolling over, and Al detached himself from Piper and literally threw me into the circle. I knew I was going to get murdered. I saw several people glare evilly, including Lottie and Thomas. I waited as they all wrote down their various things, then grabbed the hat.

"Proclaim your undying love for Lottie in a song," I read, and Thomas sent me a wink. I begrudgingly did it, causing everyone else to laugh. There were a few questions, which I answered truthfully, until I came to one dare I wouldn't do. "No!" I shouted. It was too personal.

"Nick, Nick, Nick, what are we going to do with you?" Rhys tsked. "I dare you to spend the night in the Shrieking Shack. You can do that after the sixth years go swimming in the Black Lake, which happened to be my order for the three of you. Don't worry, Al and Piper will spend the night in the shack with you." We all groaned, but didn't complain. Everyone else was laughing.

Ah, well. It was Halloween.

"Let's go, mates," I said cheerfully, grabbing as many sweets as I could. Piper and Al followed, along with Rhys, to make sure we completed the order.

Tonight was going to be brilliant. It was Halloween, after all, and despite our moans, Piper, Al, and I had no reservations about going to the Shrieking Shack.

"Nick, I'm going to bloody kill you!" Al shouted, before chasing after me. We raced our way to the shack, laughing our heads off. We didn't care how loud we were, and Al even put Piper over his shoulder and carried her most of the way.

I blamed our erratic behaviour on one thing and one thing only.

Halloween.


	11. The Match

The two weeks after Halloween passed in a sheer Quidditch frenzy. I honestly didn't remember half of what happened because I was so focused on the match. We had our normal, excruciatingly long practices in the morning, but then we also snuck out to the pitch every night at midnight for another practice. I actually enjoyed the midnight ones, though, because of how many stars were out. Being in the middle of the country, there were so many illuminating the sky. It was just ... beautiful.

The only other things I knew were that I had gotten horrible marks those two weeks, and felt like falling over and sleeping for fourteen hours. Sadly, that would never happen, as Piper had explained to me one day, because all of our Quidditch practices are either less time than that apart, or were separated by classes. (Piper would _murder_ me if I skipped class, whereas otherwise I wouldn't care. And she was already quite pissed off about my steadily dropping marks as it was …) But there _was_ an upside to those two weeks.

I hadn't had time to worry about B-17, or the comments from Stebbins and his gang. I was too tired to cause 'trouble' during class, and I quietly served my detentions (apparently being on probation meant they never ended). Plus, I couldn't wonder about what would happen if I _did _snap, or how long I would have to watch my back. And most of all, I didn't have time to worry about summer. My last time in a home; I turned seventeen in August. But then there was the issue of my rather lacking vault in Gringotts, and flats were expensive ...

Anyways, after two weeks of enduring my classifiably insane captain, the day of the match was finally here. Albus had made us go to bed at seven o'clock last night, but sadly I had passed out almost as soon as my head hit my pillow. And finally got my fourteen hours of sleep … actually, it was twelve. Al had ordered us to go directly to the pitch at seven today after changing into our robes. I knew why; he wanted us to avoid the chaos of the Great Hall, and stop us from getting nervous, and from hearing the taunts. But, honestly, I wasn't nearly nervous. We had practiced our arses off, and would win today. Indefinitely. _But Ravenclaw was good … _

And so I was sitting in the changing rooms, watching Paige plait her long brown hair like Piper did, before tieing green and silver hair ties around the braid. Kenzie and Jasper were tossing rolls back and forth, Albus having provided food for us, and Al, Alyssa and Rhys were talking strategy in a corner. Antisocial worry-warts, if you asked me. Matches were supposed to be _fun_. (I think)

"Hey, Nick! Do you want me to plait yours, too? It'll keep it out of your face better," Paige offered, but I was wary. She looked really eager, though, and I had nothing to lose.

"Fine," I answered, shrugging. But if it didn't keep my hair out of my face as well as promised I would have to seek revenge. Paige looked mildly surprised, but grinned and walked over. Before I knew it, my hair was back in two tight plaits. I had to admit, it did keep even my untamable hair out of the way.

"All right, you lot," Al said, walking over to his beloved blackboard where he drew his precious x's and o's. "Grab something to eat, sit down, and shut it." I did as he said, but tuned out most of his lecture. I honestly didn't care about Al's plays; I just wanted to hit bludgers at the Ravenclaws. "Oh, and here's earplugs for you lot. They're enchanted so we can only hear each other and no one or anything else. I asked Professor McLaggen, and he said it was legal, and it'll block out whatever they're," Al paused, "… it'll help us focus." Al tried to smile, but it was strained. "Now let's win a match!"

Great plan, Al. It wasn't like the captains had been saying that before every match since the war. Still, it rarely happened. I think the last time Slytherin won the cup was 2006, but even then the team had been made up of mostly first years.

So I took a pair of earplugs and found my broom (I had somehow lost it while I was dozing through the pep talk). Immediately, I heard Al's voice in my ear. That was a little creepy.

"Ready?" it asked quietly, and I saw Albus looking at me. I just nodded, trying to look confident. Honestly, though, my confidence had disappeared. We hadn't won a match the entire time I'd been at Hogwarts. It was usually interesting to listen to Owen commentate, though, but I guessed I wouldn't even be able to hear his subtle jabs at the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors today, with the earplugs and whatnot. He usually steered clear of Slytherin jokes, though. _Why?_ I guessed that since his brother was adopted, it was highly possible that his biological parents had been Slytherins. And Owen didn't want to offend his brother. It was probably something of that sort, at least ...

"Oi, Aldemort?" I called into the earpiece, realizing something. "When they announce our names, how will we know which one is ours?" With satisfaction, I heard Al swear. I loved poking holes in his 'brilliant' plans.

"Take out one until the beginning of the match. Then, when everyone's in position, put the other one back," he ordered after thinking a bit. "That should work," he added, but shot me a glance for the 'Aldemort'. I ignored it and just smiled. The newbies looked like they were going to wet themselves, I noted to myself, but Al must have heard my slight snicker because he looked worriedly at the new members of the team. Albus sighed before speaking again.

"Listen, I'm not going to lie to you lot. It's going to be bloody rough out there, from the actual match to the the earplugs you won't have to hear most of it. You've heard some of it from when you've watched the games, but it's not as bad as when you're on the pitch. It gets personal; believe me, I know. All the other captains have said 'don't let it get to you, just focus on the match'. But sometimes, you can't. Which is why you need the earpieces," Al admitted, and everyone looked a little more grim. He was right, though, and I knew he was ... from experience. I had been on the team since fourth year, and usually the other houses were cruel. Very cruel. You should have heard some of the things the Gryffindors had on Al last year. I almost walked over to James during a time out and punched him. Sadly, the combined force of Rhys and Al had stopped_that _idea, so I had to settle for a nice little hit to the elbow that made Chasing a little more difficult for dear Jamie.

"So, to sum it up, just wear the bloody earplugs and let's win a match! The other houses are starting to catch up, so we need the points," I said in a chipper tone, and Rhys nodded. Al didn't reply; he was too busy surveying the team.

"I think it's time," Al said after a while, just a little too gravely.

"Oh, lighten up. It's not like we're going to _die _or anything. The last time _that _happened at a Hogwarts match was in 1868," I inputted, and Rhys smiled slightly.

"So you know the date the last of a death at of a Quidditch match at Hogwarts, but you don't know anything about the Goblin Rebellions you've been learning about for the past year?" he asked, and I just nodded. Rhys, Al, and Kenzie all groaned.

"Are we going to play Quidditch, or are we just going to debate Nick's less than studious tendencies?" Alyssa asked in a bored tone. I just smiled.

"She's right. I really need to update history. Let's kill some 'claws!" I exclaimed, before running out of the changing rooms with a war cry. I heard a mixture of chuckles and sighs behind me, with Kenzie asking Al if I was actually going to kill someone, and Al harping after me about 'legal hits'. Killjoy.

I didn't care, though. I just wanted to play some Quidditch.

* * *

"Annnnnd welcome to the rather belated first Quidditch Match of the year! Normally it'd be almost a month ago, but I have a feeling that the _obviously fearless _Gryffindors were scared of Slytherin, because they delayed their match against the snakes. I don't see why, though, I don't_ think _there are any future Dark Lords playing today." Everyone chuckled a little at that, glancing at Lottie and Thomas, who had amplified their voices and screamed 'DAMN RIGHT! 'CAUSE THEY'RE SITTING RIGHT HERE!'

"So, today Ravenclaw and Slytherin will be facing off in this _lovely _weather," Owen announced, looking at the already drizzling skies. Even though I wished Piper had gotten the position, Owen really did a brilliant job with the commentary. He had just the right mix of humor and taunting; enough to make the students laugh, but not enough to warrant Professor Chang to take away the microphone.

"And here comes Slytherin!" Owen continued, and called off each one of our names. We soared to our positions, grinning slightly demonically. (we were testing out a 'fear' tactic) After that, he read off Ravenclaws, adding in a rather amusing bit about someone he obviously knew well, who mimed throwing his beater's bat at Owen.

Then after the whole 'play nice, don't _try _to murder each other and whatnot' by Professor McLaggen, the match began.

Ravenclaw wouldn't know what hit them. This was going to be _brilliant._

* * *

"OPEN! ALYSSA ON YOUR RIGHT!"

"DAMMIT, GET BACK! RAVENCLAW HAS THE QUAFFLE!"

"PAIGE; DUCK!"

"GOOD ONE, JASPER!"

"DUCK! ALYSSA, _DUCK_!"

"BLOODY F ... RHYS!"

"AL, GET THE DAMN SNITCH _NOW_!"

"NICK! TO THE LEFT ... BY KENZIE!" Rhys shouted, but because of the ear devices it was literally right in my ear. I immediately shot off to the left and just managed to block the hit. It had been heading straight for Kenzie's head, and the bludger was going so fast that the impact jarred my arm. Ravenclaw was playing dirty; that wasn't the first illegal hit I'd blocked.

It had been almost three hours since the match started. From the moment the Quaffle entered the air, it had been a bloodbath. Rhys and I had been going crazy trying to protect everyone. I had to admit, though, the ear devices were really helpful. Not only did it block out all the taunts from the stands, it also helped me ignore the Ravenclaw pigs, who loved to make cocky and sexist comments towards the girls on the other team.

Despite our antics, though, it was within twenty points, and we were looking a little worse for the wear. Okay, that was an understatement. I didn't think there was one person on our team who would be able to walk after the match. All three Chasers had been hit in the stomach multiple times, either by bludgers, fists, elbows, or, in Alyssa's case, bats. Kenzie had been run into the side of the stadium, and one leg was covered in a red substance I assumed was blood. Jasper was catching the Ravenclaws' normally painful shots with broken hands; he couldn't even keep his gloves on because his hands were so swollen. And Al, he had taken many illegal hits, just because the Ravenclaws felt like it. Rhys had taken a bludger to the face for Paige, and one to his elbow for Alyssa, and it was slowing him down, though he didn't admit it.

I, however, was in pretty good shape. I'd had a lot worse.

Okay, maybe it hurt a bit.

"KENZIE TO YOUR LEFT! DUCK, NOW!" I screamed, accelerating my broom as fast as it could go (which wasn't very as it was very, very old) towards Kenzie. I had just seen the little twerp of a Ravenclaw, one who had targeting Kenzie the entire match, raise his beater's bat with a simply scary face. Somehow, I had known whatever was about to happen wouldn't end well.

But as I was trying to stop the first Bludger from hitting Kenzie, I had completely neglected the other one, and neither the Bludger nor Rhys was anywhere to be seen.

"NICK!" I heard someone bellow, a split second before I felt the crunch at the back of my right shoulder. I screamed, not expecting the hit, and watched helplessly as Kenzie, who had turned at the sound of my scream, get hit in the head and topple down towards the earth.

My mind blanked, and I just rushed towards the ground, trying to catch Kenzie. I ignored my shoulder, my only thought was of saving him before he hit the ground.

"NICK, NO!" Al roared in my ear, and I saw he was just below me, trying to catch Kenzie, too. Then I saw the little black ball heading towards Al's back, just a little above and to the right of me.

So I did the only natural thing. I flung my bat out to where the Bludger was, ignoring the jolt as my shoulder protested, and felt the impact of the bludger. I bit my lip so I wouldn't scream and distract Al; an agonizing shock was spreading up my arm. My vision blurred a bit with the pain, and when it cleared I saw Albus on the ground, holding Kenzie. He looked up, and raised his wand, sending a signal to McLaggen, who had (finally) blown his whistle, signaling a foul.

"Time out," Albus growled. Madam Bones rushed down and took Kenzie away, conjuring a stretcher, and everyone looked at Al. McLaggen blew his whistle again, and we all trudged into a corner of the pitch.

"Slytherin has fallen to forty points behind Ravenclaw, who happens to be playing a very dirty game. Not that McLaggen noticed, though. So at the time out, the score is 150-110 ... Ravenclaw," Owen announced, sounding very ... peeved. I hadn't heard his commentary, until now but I had taken an earpiece out to hear the score. Were the fouls really that obvious? We all knew that McLaggen was a bigot, but he was really okay with watching kids get beat up?

"Okay. I'm not that great with healing spells, so I don't know how much I can help. Nick?" Al said immediately once everyone was there, and I was surprised. His eyes were practically burning with rage when he called the time out. But now he sounded ... calm. Maybe even a bit defeated.

"Bruises and minor scrapes ... not on this scale," I admitted quietly. Then that Potter rage resurfaced.

"Great. Just ... bloody ... great. One of our Chasers just got hit in the head with a Bludger, Nick just crushed her shoulder, and our Keeper can't even straighten his fingers. Ravenclaw is playing dirty, and the Snitch is nowhere to be seen," Al ranted, and I shot Rhys a worried look. He didn't notice; he was too busy supporting his sister, who couldn't stand on her own.

"Okay, so what's the brilliant plan?" I asked Al heatedly. This was out of character for Albus. "Yes, Ravenclaws are dirty little cheaters, and yes, Kenzie's in bad shape, but why tell us the obvious? You didn't call the time out just to give us a break, if you're the same Albus Potter who ran our practices. You're not James, are you?"

"Obviously not, you nitwit. Look at him," Rhys said exasperatedly, after he saw the look on Al's face. It was positively demonic.

We were back in business.

"All right, mates. Listen up; we have a match to win," Al ordered, a smile on his blood encrusted face. He spat the blood out of his mouth, and we all listened as Al explained his brilliant plan. He had found Ravenclaw's weakness. (Or maybe Piper had one of these earpiece things ... Merlin knew Al wasn't smart enough on his own.)

* * *

"You ready?" Rhys whispered into my ear as we waited for Alyssa to take the penalty shot from Kenzie. I nodded, smiling slightly evilly. "Don't try to kill yourself."

"I make no promises," I muttered. "If we win the match, though, it'll be worth it. And I'll have my name in a history book ..."

"Yes, I can see it already. Nicole Warrington; first girl to die in a Hogwarts' Quidditch match since 1868," Rhys replied sarcastically.

"Oi! You realize we can all hear you?" Alyssa exclaimed. "Earpieces, remember?" Rhys and I swore under our breaths. "Eejits," Alyssa muttered, before lining up for the penalty shot.

"Just play Quidditch," Al cut in, sounding exasperated. "We're starting ... oh, bloody hell! NOW! Good shot, Lyssa! Now let's go!"

So I grinned one more time at Rhys, before taking off down the pitch. Paige was just about to take a shot when Rhys passed me a Bludger, and I slammed it at the Ravenclaw Keeper. It was a legal shot because Paige was shooting, and it hit the Keeper in the side, but the eejit didn't hold onto his broom, so he was officially out of the game. So it was his own fault, really.

You see, the Ravenclaw Chasers were horrible at defense. So, if we took out their Keeper and kept control of the Quaffle, we would regain our lead. If only Al could find the bloody Snitch ...

So for the next ten minutes or so the Chasers simply floored Ravenclaw. It didn't matter if there were two of them; Paige and Alyssa passed with a seamless rhythm that the Ravenclaws couldn't hope to compete with. Rhys and I kept the Bludgers away, and Al resumed his hunt for the Snitch.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt the slam of a body. The next thing I knew, I was spitting wood out of my mouth as I tried to regain my location. But in those five seconds it took, both of the bludgers disappeared. Until they were both headed straight for Al, who was in the middle of a dive, the Snitch hovering just above the ground.

"RHYS!" I screamed, but it was too late. From what must have been fifty feet up, Al was knocked off his broom. I watched him fall, and saw Rhys chase after him, but Albus was too far ahead of him.

Albus hit the ground.

I heard Piper's scream, but it didn't register until later. Blood pounding in my ears, I grabbed my bat and went after one of the Bludgers and flung it at the Ravenclaw Seeker. Sadly, she avoided it, but the Snitch had seemingly disappeared. I didn't stop, though, I just kept flinging Bludgers at any person in blue robes I could. After I heard the whistle, having finally gotten McLaggen's attention, the blood stopped pounding in my ears. Then the voices reappeared in my ear.

"NICK!" I heard Jasper roar. "STOP; _NOW_!"

"OH MY GOD, AL!" Paige screamed, finally seeing his unmoving form being levitated away by Professor Zabini.

"WE NEED A TIME-OUT!" Alyssa yelled. I, however, was looking at Rhys. He was standing calmly on the field, something in his hand.

"Rhys?" I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper. I didn't want to believe it. "What's in your hand?"

"No ..." Alyssa whispered. "You couldn't have ... Albus ..."

"PROFESSOR!" I yelled. McLaggen flew over, looking peeved.

"What is it now?" he asked. "Did another one of you pass out?" I ignored his comment, and gestured to Rhys, who had flown up.

"No. I have the Snitch," Rhys said calmly.

"What?" McLaggen spluttered. "Let me see!" So Rhys opened his hand calmly, and, sure enough, there was a little golden ball inside.

We had won.

"What? ... that's against the rules! Only a Seeker can catch the Snitch!" McLaggen continued, and I shot Rhys a panicked look. He wasn't fazed, though.

"I didn't say I _caught_ it; I said I had it. Albus caught it as he fell to the ground. He didn't lose consciousness until_ after_ he hit. Ask Professor Zabini, or examine the Snitch," Rhys reasoned, and we all smirked. The Ravenclaws, who had flown over to see what all teh commotion was about, looked positively _murderous_.

"Fine ..." McLaggen conceded, and flew up to the match to inform Owen of the result of the match.

"SLYTHERIN HAS WON ITS FIRST MATCH IN OVER FIFTEEN YEARS!" Owen announced, before going on about the score, and the match in the same annoyed manner. He never swore, though; that was one of the reasons he had actually maintained the position.

We, however, didn't care. The adrenaline was fading, and the pain was setting in. Alyssa was being supported by both Rhys and Jasper, while Paige and I limped alongside them; me trying not to move my right arm, Paige wheezing for air.

It wasn't anything Madam Bones couldn't heal in an instant, though, so it wasn't that bad. Albus and Kenzie, though; a hit to the head could be deadly, and I'd heard about people who were paralyzed after hits to the back. (which one of the bludgers had done to Albus)

"Are you lot okay? Lottie and Thomas just went to go nick food and such; there's going to be a party in the CR!" Lydia, one of Jasper's mates, called as she ran past us. "Brilliant job!" Piper suddenly materialized next to me, as the rest of our house ran past in excitement. She was accompanied by Arabella, one of Kenzie's mates.

"Are you lot going to the Hospital Wing?" Piper asked quietly. I just nodded, and she surveyed us. "Good."

"Piper, he'll be fine. It's nothing that Madam Bones can't handle," I told her, knowing what she was thinking, but she just nodded. Arabella was still biting her nails nervously. "Kenzie, too, Bella. Merlin knows his skull is thick enough." Bella laughed slightly, but she still looked worried.

And, just like that, I was sobered. I was worried about them; were they really all right? And then, another thought struck.

Was this how Piper and Al felt before seeing _me _at the beginning of each year? Did they have to wonder if I would even come back every summer? If I were them, I wouldn't have been able to take it. I would have screamed, or gone insane with worry. You could hurt me all you wanted, but go anywhere near my friends and I'd curse to the point that you wouldn't be able to form a coherent sentence again.

"Brilliant match, though. I haven't seen Slytherin play like that since, well, ever," Bella told us, smiling. It was still very strained. Just then, I felt something cold and sticky hit the back of my head. I whirled around. But no one was there.

"You lot go on ahead. I need to check something," I told them all, trying to look collected and calm. Whoever it was that was baiting me could bait me, but I wasn't letting anyone else get caught in the middle of it.

"What is it?" Piper asked, reading past my emotionless face. "What's on the back of your head?"

"Probably leftover blood. It's fine; I'll meet up with you. I'm sure it's nothing," I dismissed. Piper looked reluctant, Rhys skeptical. They left, though, and then I turned around again. I waited until the rest of the stragglers were out of sight, before glaring.

"Who was it?" I asked, and five Hufflepuffs appeared out of nowhere. "You," I spat, recognizing one of them.

"Yes," he responded cockily. Oh. Two could play at that game.

"Wow, I can see why you're not a Gryffindor. Do you really have to attack one little snake girl with four people for back-up?" I retorted. To my glee, he looked a little startled. Time to seal the deal. "And invisibility charms? That's antics almost worthy of a _Slytherin_."

He didn't have a reply, but I didn't expect him to. His face was turning a _lovely _shade of red, though.

"So, are we actually going to duel? One on one?" I drawled, trying to look bored. "I have many other places I'd rather be, so make up your mind quickly."

"Fine," he said confidently, before swallowing. "Go on, I'll catch up. This won't take long." I merely raised an eyebrow.

As he watched them go, I hit him with a silent bat-bogey hex.

"That's not fair! We hadn't started yet!" he exclaimed, quickly casting the counter charm.

"I'm a Slytherin, _Stebbins_. I don't play fair," I said coldly, as he drew his wand.

"Fine. I can see you're the same stupid little bitch that you were when you leeched off my parents," he retorted. I felt my blood boil.

"What did you say?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice calm.

"I said you're a stupid little bitch. You leeched off my parents for a year, because your parents were probably hitting the bottle or something. I bet they didn't even have jobs. Good for nothing people." He paused. "I can see where you got it from. Tell me, how do you support yourself now? Working the corner? Are you a-"

I snapped. I didn't care if I had the disadvantage; I attacked. I sent spell after spell, and I could see that he was struggling. Life dissolved into the duel; my only thoughts were of sending and parrying, and time slowing down to almost a standstill. I swore I saw a few flashes of green, but I didn't care. I was filled with white-hot rage, so intense I was starting to see red. And then, just when I thought I had him cornered, I was knocked flat on my back. My shoulder screamed in agony, and then Stebbins was standing over me. He stepped on my right arm, sending another jolt of pain up through my shoulder. I didn't cry out, though.

"You're nothing," he panted. "Nothing more than a dirty ... little ..."

The next thing I knew, he was on the ground, and I was standing over him, his wand broken in half. Mine was somewhere in the grass. So I pulled back my fist, and punched him in the face. Screw wizard duelling; muggle brawling was so much more effective for anger release.

"You dirty ..." Stebbins started, before moving to punch me in the face. He was sluggish and weak, though, and my guess was that he thought the pain in his (probably broken) nose was agonizing. It was no competition.

Sick of the insults, and laughing maniacally about his low pain tolerance, I initiated the fight. I didn't care; I had put up with comments from him for too long. Plus, I needed an outlet. I was murderous. I wanted to kill the Ministry, I wanted to kill goddamn Social Services, and I wanted to kill every single abusive foster parent I'd ever had. I wanted to kill _Him_. Screw the consequences; everyone knew this was going to happen eventually, it had only been a matter of time.

When the brawl was over, Stebbins was unconscious. The satisfaction, however, was slowly fading. Madam Bones would be able to heal him in less than five minutes. He wouldn't even scar. Swearing, and realizing what I had done, I started to limp up to the castle.

_What had I done?_

There was nothing I could do to undo what had just happened. And, to be honest, I didn't care what happened. I just needed to see Al, to know that he was alright. That _something_was still alright.

_What was going to happen to me? _

Suddenly, what I guessed was four sets of hands grabbed me and started to haul me off. I tried to fight, but they were too strong. I screamed; one covered my mouth. The worst part was that I knew exactly who they were. Of course I shouldn't have thought I could just win and walk away. He'd rigged it from the beginning. Slimy bastard.

As they started punching and hexing me, taking turns, I knew what I had to do. It usually ended sooner that way. I remained silent. I didn't scream, I didn't fight. I didn't cry. I shut myself down, soaking in the pain. I deserved every bit, and I wasn't going to fight it. Everything was over ... let them kill me. There was nothing left to fight for.

It continued for ages, until they slammed my head into the wall, pushing me into a corner I couldn't get out of, and I started to see stars as they advanced again. I swore I heard someone, miles away, shout my name before everything turned to black.

* * *

"Where _is _Nick?" Piper asked worriedly, pacing the Hospital Wing. Albus was still unconscious, as was Kenzie, so the rest of the team was there, waiting to tell them the result of the match.

"I dunno," Alyssa asked, trying to appear calm. "I'm sure it's fine, though, Piper. Nick tends to wander off sometimes ..."

"It's been almost an hour, though," Piper replied, looking towards the door. "She was acting odd, too. Something's wrong."

"If you'll calm down, I'll go look for her," Rhys volunteered, sounding slightly peeved. "Merlin knows you need to stop stressing out over these little things," he muttered. Piper's face visibly relaxed, and she seemed to not notice Rhys's comment.

"Thanks, Rhys," she said gratefully, before glancing at Albus. As Rhys turned to leave, he saw a tear in her eye. "What would I do if they both got hurt? I'd have no one," she whispered to herself. There was a lot more to Piper Longbottom than Rhys had thought. She wasn't just little miss sunshine with good marks and a sugary-sweet little smile after all.

Rhys's face immediately softened, and he set off to look for Nick. He wandered the corridors down towards the Entrance Hall, but on the second floor he heard what sounded like a scuffle. Then he heard taunts, derogatory words, and immediately ran towards the noises.

"No," he whispered, as he tried to see who the Hufflepuffs were torturing. Then he saw the color of the person's robes. "NICK!" he yelled, and immediately the Hufflepuffs scampered. _Cowardly little gits_, Rhys thought to himself, as he rushed towards her. She was almost unrecognizable, and Rhys was glad she was unconscious. Merlin knew the pain she was in ...

_Oh, God. Piper._ What was Rhys going to tell her? She couldn't see Nick like this ... she couldn't. But what could Rhys do?

"Oh my God," a voice said next to him. "Nick?" it asked quietly. Rhys didn't recognize the boy, but he recognized his voice. The Quidditch announcer. ... a Hufflepuff. Just like _them_. "What happened?"

"Ask your friends," Rhys growled. For all he knew, the boy had been a part of it, too.

"What?" he replied. "What can I do?" he asked softly. "I swear to God I didn't do this. She's my _friend_." Rhys thought back to his conversation with Nick about Hufflepuffs, and realized he was probably who Nick was talking about. '_Some of them are decent_'. He decided to trust Nick, and turned to the Hufflepuff.

"Run up to the Hospital Wing. Get Piper out of there. Tell 'Lyssa, the red-head, what happened. Tell her to get Professor Zabini, and to clear everyone else out," Rhys ordered, and the Hufflepuff nodded, before running away. Rhys scooped Nick into his arms, trying not to look at her in that state, and followed. He knew what was going on with her, and the Ministry, and knew this was bad. (Their parents were mates, so his dad tried to check up on Nick every once in awhile ... so when Rhys had asked him, he had found out).

When Rhys reached the Hospital Wing, he found the Hufflepuff had actually done what he'd asked. Alyssa and Professor Zabini were there, and Madam Bones immediately rushed over from the person she had been treating to the bed Rhys had placed Nick on. It was then Rhys realized the Hufflepuff was there, too.

"Rhys?" Professor Zabini asked, but Rhys just shook his head. He was pretty sure he looked close to tears. It was how he felt, at least. _What would happen to Nick?_ "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened. The crazy bint attacked me!" the other patient exclaimed. "Got what she deserved, in my opinion."

"Shut it, Tyler," the Hufflepuff growled.

"Turning into a snake-lover, are we, Owen?" 'Tyler' sneered. Professor Zabini waved his wand, and Tyler's bloody nose disappeared.

"There. I think you're ready to leave, Mr. Stebbins," the professor said coldly, and Madam Bones nodded her consent. The look she gave Stebbins was oddly cold. Rhys couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Fine. I have a meeting with the headmaster, anyways," Stebbins said snobbishly before leaving. Owen just glared at his housemate as he left. Rhys's face creased even further._The headmaster?_ This wasn't good.

"He was a hell of a lot worse when he walked in," Owen said with relish. "Whatever Nick did, she got him good." The stupid little Hufflepuff didn't know what this meant for Nick. Yet again, Rhys was pretty sure the only people who she had told were Al and Piper, possibly Scorpius.

"Where's Piper?" Rhys asked him.

"In your lot's common room. I told her they needed help with something for the party," Owen replied.

"Good," Rhys said stiffly, before relaxing a bit. "Thanks," he added.

"Now that that's taken care of ... what happened? Because if what Stebbins said is true ..." Professor Zabini trailed off, looking at Nick. She was still motionless, save for the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

So Rhys and Owen explained what they saw, and watched Professor Zabini's face grow darker and more worried. When they reached the end of the story, there was a long silence. Madam Bones was done healing Nick, but there were still cuts and bruises. From the hexes, marks that would scar. Adding to the many others Rhys could see, as Madam Bones healed Nick's broken ribs.

"She didn't even fight back," Rhys added, his voice hollow. There was another pregnant pause.

"Nick?" a voice said hoarsely. "What's going to happen ..." It was Albus, and his eyes were filled with worry as he immediately jerked into a sitting position. He winced a bit, but suppressed the pain. Rhys could tell.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. You're awake," Madam Bones said, before checking him over to see if he could go. And with a warning about his back, she released him, before going back to healing Nick. But Al just joined the group.

"Owen?" he asked. Owen looked away, and Albus's eyes found Nick.

"She was a lot worse before," Al stated calmly, but his eyes showed his worry, and his hands were shaking. With rage or fear, though, Rhys couldn't tell. "Professor?" Albus asked pleadingly, but Professor Zabini held up a hand.

"What's done is done," he said, his eyes full of sorrow. The professor left, muttering about talking to the headmaster. As he slipped out, Piper walked back in.

"What were you talking about, Owen? Everything's fine ..." Piper trailed off as she entered the room, seeing Al. Her lips widened into the widest smile any of them had seen out of Piper Longbottom. "You're all right." Piper ran and hugged him, and Al grunted a bit as the force of her tiny frame affected his back. When Piper finally let go of Al, she saw Rhys. "Did you find ..." And finally, she looked at the bed everyone was crowded around ... and saw Nick.

"Piper," Owen started, trying to explain, but she cut him off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she screamed, before rounding on Rhys. "You sent him, didn't you? To steer me away!"

"Pipes, calm down. You didn't want to see her when Rhys brought her in. Trust me," Al said, trying to calm her down. Even though he hadn't, everyone got the idea he knew exactly how bad it was.

"I won't calm down! My best friend is like _that_! And you all just sent me away!" Piper shouted, before crying. "What happened to her? What's _going _to happen to her? I saw Stebbins ..."

Al put his arms around Piper, pulling her into a tight hug. He just held her, rubbing her back and murmuring nonsense, trying to calm down the now crying girl.

"The Mating Ritual ..." Owen muttered under his breath, thinking of Nick. If Al and Piper could make it through this, maybe Nick would be okay, whatever it was that was going on with her.

Everyone just stood there for a while, watching silently as Nick started to stir. To each their own thoughts and worries. Until Professor Zabini walked back in, looking extremely grave.

"They need Nick in the Headmaster's office. Now."


	12. Consequences

"_They need Nick in the Headmaster's office. Now._"

"Wh ... what?" Madam Bones spluttered. "You can't! She's not even conscious yet, for Merlin's sake!"

"I know, Susan. Believe me, I fought Joseph on it. But he told me I was to, and I quote, get Nick down there if I have to carry her there myself," Professor Zabini said roughly. I guess they didn't know I was awake, but I decided I wanted to hear what was going on before announcing my consciousness. In fact, I kind of wished I wasn't conscious. Apart from the impending doom awaiting me in the waking world, it felt like my body had been trampled by a herd of Hippogriffs. Then stabbed.

"What's going on?" I heard Owen ask. "Why is Nick in trouble? I mean, I know she beat up Stebbins, but honestly, he deserved it. You should hear what he says ... and it's not like what Nick did warranted an immediate summons to the _Headmaster's_ office." Of course Owen didn't know what was happening. Only Al, Piper, and the professors did. Wait ... what was he doing here in the first place? Oh, God ...

"He doesn't know," what sounded like Rhys pointed out, probably to Professor Zabini.

"What don't I know?" Owen asked immediately, sounding angry. "What's wrong with Nick?"

"Look, mate, I'd love to tell you, but it isn't my secret to share," Al admitted. His voice was grave, and I could just see him running his hands through his hair like he always did in situations like these. "Only Nick can tell you."

"But don't press her," Piper added quietly. "She doesn't need it right now." _What had I done? _Piper's voice sounded so fragile, like glass just waiting to break. _Had I done that?_ It made me realize my biggest mistake; I should never had told her what was happening, because of what it did.

I had broken her. I had broke my best friend, just tore her to pieces. Al, too, though he was trying to hide it. Because they knew that everything was crashing down around me, they would know how I felt. And because they knew how I felt, they too, could feel the crushing pain. The worst part was that they had to watch me try to cope with it. It was one thing to go through it, but to watch someone ... not being able to do anything ... God, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, much less my best friends. I should never have told them; it had just made everything worse. I shouldn't have even became friends with them ... they could be so much happier without me. If only I could take it all back. I couldn't, and there was only one thing I could. I had to stop being around them.

I was done messing up their lives. I couldn't do it any more. I couldn't hurt them any more.

"I won't. I won't press her," I heard Owen say softly, his voice full of hurt. I couldn't hurt him, too. I wasn't going to screw with his mind; I wasn't going to let myself get closer to him, just to hurt him. He would be so much better off without me. They all would.

"Good. Look, I don't want to be rude, but you should go. I don't want your house to lynch you or anything," Al said coldly to Owen. Owen didn't reply, but I heard the door slam.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, her voice quiet but full of steel. "Professor?" This time, Piper's voice broke, and I was pretty sure she was clutching at straws. _What was I doing to her?_

"There's not much we _can _do, to be honest. Stebbins has his sob story, not to mention a_bit _of influence," Professor Zabini admitted. "Anselm's hands are tied, and Dominique isn't helping. She wants to make an example out of Nick."

_And Dominique wondered why I didn't like her?_

"I could say something. Me and that Owen bloke, I mean. We found her ... and I saw the four Hufflepuffs," Rhys offered, and I felt my heart break again. So he was the one who called my name? Oh god, he had seen me. I probably looked like a piece of shredded meat, at best. No one should ever have to see it; I remember a Healer-in-training vomited when he had to sit in on me being treated once.

I had hurt Rhys, too. He shouldn't have had to deal with that; Rhys should be sitting in the common room, his head in a pile of books and his nose in an essay. He shouldn't be here, worrying about the little girl who's a Beater alongside him. She'd be fine. _Right?_

"No," I said quietly, trying to sit up. I couldn't take this anymore; they were making it so much harder to let them let me go. "I can't let you do that. They won't believe you, and you'll just get in trouble," I rasped out, getting out of the bed. Albus, however, gently pushed me back, and I couldn't fight him. I was seeing stars with the pain and effort those small actions had caused, and I needed most of my force to fight him normally. But I needed to go; I needed to face the music. I needed to know what was going to happen to me.

"Nick, you need to lay down," Albus coaxed, his voice a mix of relief and worry.

"I'm fine," I denied, trying to stand up again. This time it was Professor Zabini who restrained me.

"Nick ... I'm sorry. I have to take you to the Headmaster," he told me, and I found myself fighting against the tears threatening to spill out. I was done fighting, but I had to look strong. Crying would only make everyone worry even more. "Can you walk?" he asked.

I nodded, but as soon as I took a step I almost passed out from the overwhelming pain. Luckily, Al caught me before I could fall.

"No, she can't," Al answered for me, and Madam Bones nodded. She looked positively pitying. "I'll carry her," Al offered quietly, but smiled mischievously at me, trying to make me remember all the silly arguments that had ended in him carrying me somewhere. I just looked down, though. The guilt was crawling up my throat like bile; Al deserved so much better than this, to have to carry his friend to a meeting she might never return from. They all deserved so much better. They deserved so much better than me.

"Fine. We need to go, though. Dominique Weasley isn't a very patient woman. I promise to bring her back soon, Susan," Professor Zabini consented, earning a curt nod from Madam Bones. And so we were off.

Professor Zabini tried to coach me on how to act, but my mind was a million miles away. Al held me tightly, and I just buried my head in his shoulder. His scent was so calming, so familiar, that it made wonder ... it made me wonder if I would ever see him again, if we'd ever argue again, if he'd ever pull me into an inescapable hug again. The thought of losing him, and Piper, and Scorpius, and even Owen, made me break down. I hated hurting them ... but I needed them. I needed them so much. I couldn't do this without them, and I knew I would have given up a long time ago if I hadn't had them.

_No. _I couldn't. I had to stop being so god damn selfish. They were better off without me. I couldn't hold onto them any more; I wasn't good for any of them. They deserved to be happy. And they couldn't be that around me. I was bad for them.

"It'll be fine," Al muttered as he set me down outside of the Headmaster's office. I just nodded, but I felt something wet slide down my face.

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling myself break down even more. "If I don't see you-"

"No. You will," Al said forcefully, before smiling weakly. "I couldn't get rid of you even if I tried, Nicole Warrington." And then he wiped the tear from my face, before pulling me in and holding my shaking body tight. He was so amazing, so good, and I was just hurting him more. Another tear slid down my face. He had no idea how much harder he was making this; the guilt, it was surging through my veins, swallowing me whole. They all needed to let go of me ... I was like a fire. I destroyed everything I touched. As I hobbled onto the staircase, I couldn't help the thought that crossed my mind.

The world would have been such a better, happier place if I had never been born.

"Ms. Warrington, I assume you know why you are here," Professor Anselm said gravely, his eyes sending me pity. _Since when did he give a damn?_

"Yes, Sir," I replied quietly, looking at my hands. I couldn't look at him, and I couldn't look at Professor Zabini. Forget about Dominique, or the Stebbins family.

"Speak up, girl," Mrs. Stebbins barked, and I repressed the urge to flinch. I still affiliated that voice with her slap ... or belt.

"Sorry, Ma'am," I responded automatically, another reflex.

"It's alright, Nick. Just speak a little louder," Professor Zabini said calmly, but I knew his hands were shaking with suppressed rage. He knew about the Stebbins; Arabella and I had been there for about a week together ... before I ran. And she had told him after she came back from the summer with a limp and bruises and cuts she couldn't explain.

"Ms. Warrington, do you care to explain what happened?" Professor Anselm asked. I took a breath.

"Er ... I was walking back from the match when something hit the back of my head. I waited until everyone left, then asked who had thrown it. He was standing there, and we started ... talking. Then we agreed to duel, and I won," I recited. I couldn't talk about what he said, or his fault in the duel; it would just end up worse in the long run.

"She's lying! She attacked my son!" Mrs. Stebbins exclaimed. "He couldn't have gotten those injuries from some teenage duel?"

"Keep going, Nick. But ... did Tyler ever say something, a comment, maybe, that might have provoked you?" Professor Zabini asked me, trying to give me a lead. I looked to the Stebbins, all of whom were glaring at me. I knew what they wanted me to say.

"N ... No," I lied. "We were both disarmed, and we started Muggle-dueling. I knocked him out eventually, but I knew it would only last a few minutes. I panicked, and ran." I looked to the Stebbins. _Had I done it? _I got an almost imperceptible nod in return.

"If you don't mind me asking, Ms. ... Nicole, how did _you _get those injuries? From what I understood from Mr. Montague and Professor Zabini you were-are- in a pretty bad condition," Professor Anselm asked. My face paled; _what had Rhys done? Did Professor Anselm know I was lying? What did Rhys tell them?_

"When I was walking back," I started, trying to piece something together, "four people grabbed me, but I didn't see their faces. They took turns hexing and punching me." Suddenly, Professor Zabini's hand was gripping my shoulder.

"Is there nothing else you want to say?" the Headmaster asked. _What the hell was he trying to do? If he didn't believe me, why not call me out?_

"No," I whispered. I saw disappointment clearly in his eyes. Professor Zabini's grip tightened on my shoulder. The pain was blinding, but it took my mind off the pain in my heart. The heart I didn't know was functional until tonight.

"Then I have no other options, Nicole. Tyler, Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins, you may leave. Nicole, Professor Zabini, Ms. Weasley, and I need to discuss the consequences of what happened tonight," the Headmaster dismissed. The Stebbins left, all shooting me looks of sheer loathing as they did.

"Nicole, you're in a load of trouble," Dominique tittered. "The Ministry wasn't happy with you to begin with ..." I knew she was trying to bait me, as she had done many times before. I was too numb, too scared, to give a damn, though. "The Stebbins are filing a lawsuit. And with B-17 ..." she continued.

"Isn't there something we can do?" Professor Zabini blurted out. "Nick is a good kid. Amazing, actually, considering what she's been through. She's a solid student, and a good Quidditch player, excellent, actually. Did you see her-"

"Oh yes ... just_ spectacular_. I especially loved when she knocked a player off his broom. I thought it displayed her violent and unstable tendencies quite nicely," Dominique cut in, her voice dripping with acid.

"That was unnecessary, Ms. Weasley," Anselm said rather harshly. "She's just sixteen ... are you going to arrest her? Blaise is right; isn't there something we could do?"

_What? _

"Well ..." Ms. Weasley started, pretending to think. "There is _one _thing that might cause the Ministry to change its mind about Nick. If she could prove that she wasn't a liability, maybe stay Christmas break at one of her past homes without running away, they might rethink their choice."

My face paled. There were so many horrible homes, but I already knew which one it would be.

"What about a punishment here?" Professor Zabini asked, but it sounded more like a plea. "She could work here over the holidays; prove that she could contribute to society."

"I would recommend a punishment here as well, but honestly, I don't think that idea would work," Dominique said. "Nick needs to regain the Ministry's trust."

I felt my hands start to shake. I couldn't go back to one of those homes, I just couldn't.

"All right, Ms. Weasley. What home do you have in mind?" Professor Anselm asked wearily.

"Well, I already contacted some people, but only one was willing to give her another chance. I believe it was the first one she ran from ..." Dominique said, and I shut down.

She was sending me back to_ Him. _

"Nick? Do you have any objections?" Professor Zabini asked, trying to give me another chance, because I'm sure he felt me shaking. (his hand was still on my shoulder)

"N ... no," I managed to get out, before I completely broke down. I couldn't go back there, I just couldn't. But there was a little voice at the back of my mind telling me that it was the perfect opportunity to stop hurting everyone.

Because there was no way I was going to survive this.

"All right, then. Until then, you'll be suspended from Quidditch, and you'll still be on probation. You'll serve detention every day, but before then you'll have to go to Professor Zabini's office after dinner so he can ensure you won't cause any more trouble. And I'm taking 100 points from Slytherin," Professor Anselm said gravely. I just nodded.

"Joseph, she's so scared she's shaking!" Professor Zabini burst out.

"Blaise," Professor Anselm warned. "We'll discuss this later."

"It's okay. I'll wait outside," I said quietly, before hobbling away. I fell after the first two steps, and Professor Zabini helped me back up. "I'm fine," I dismissed, but I had to crawl out of the staircase once I got back down to the corridor. I crawled to the wall, knowing their argument would last for a while.

Then, I broke down. I just sobbed into my shirt. Each sob hurt more than I could describe, but I didn't care. I was going to die, I knew it. And there was nothing anyone could do. Sure, I was crying about that, but it was mostly about what had happened, and what I had to do.

_How could I look Al and Piper in the face and tell them what was happening? How could I tell them I lied, just to make it worse? How would I tell them I couldn't be around them anymore? How could I tell them they needed to move on? How could I tell them I was going to die?_

I wanted to sit there, just letting everything out, but the pain was becoming too much, especially in my chest. It was crushing me, and I felt myself slowing slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing I remembered before everything went black was Professor Zabini scooping me up.

"Oh, Nick. I'm so sorry," he whispered, as I let out one last sob. Then, everything disappeared. It was over.


	13. The Fighter

_song title comes from 'The Fighter' by Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder. I'd listen to it, particularly at the end. _

__The next time I truly regained consciousness, Piper and Al were there. Both their faces were creased, as if they had just argued, or were talking about something unmentionable. Immediately, my heart plummeted into my stomach. That, to me, was extremely ironic; to think that a day ago I had no idea my heart was functional, and now it was causing a pain I had never felt before. I could handle physical pain, but I just needed whatever pain this was to stop. It was breaking me. There was only one way to heal this, I realized. My eyes flitted momentarily to Albus and Piper.

I had to ... I had to stop clinging onto everyone. It was destroying them; I was destroying everything I touched. I was like a deadly disease ... I needed to be quarantined, to be shut off from the world. It was the best thing for them. For everyone.

"Nick," Piper breathed, and Al's face snapped towards mine. He had been staring off into space, I guessed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. It was time. "I'm so sorry." I wasn't exactly sure what for, though; for ruining my life and signing my own death warrant, or for what I was about to do.

"What happened?" Al asked, with a bit of awe in his voice, before it turned slightly bitter, but it was still mixed with fear and worry. _Why was it always worry? _"Professor Zabini walked up here, carrying you, but you were unconscious again. The only thing that he said was that you had been crying until you passed out. Then he left, looking fit to murder."

"It's fine," I told him, trying to force a smile. "I'm fine."

"I beg to differ, sweetheart," Al replied, and I knew he was right. I was far from fine.

"It's nothing," I replied, looking down at my hands again. It was killing me; I just wanted to break down, to tell them what happened, what was_ going _to happen. Somewhere deep down, though, I knew that I couldn't. It would only make it harder for them to let go.

"NO IT'S NOT! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?_ LOOK _AT YOURSELF! SOMETHING HAPPENED ... I'VE ONLY SEEN YOU CRY ONCE, NICK! _SOMETHING_ HAPPENED. WE'RE YOUR _MATES_, NICK, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRUST US! BECAUSE KEEPING IT INSIDE ISN'T HELPING ANYONE ... DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WE WORRY ABOUT YOU? HOW MUCH EVERYONE DOES? SCORPIUS THOUGHT YOU TRIED TO _KILL YOURSELF _LAST NIGHT; RHYS SAID YOU DIDN'T EVEN FIGHT BACK WHEN THEY ATTACKED YOU. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? THIS ISN'T THE NICK I KNOW!" Al shouted, standing up, and for a moment I swore I saw his eyes moisten. "You were doing so much better this year, Nick ..."

Al was torn up; I had never seen him that angry. Even at Professor Creevey, it wasn't like this. _I _had done this to him. Another reason that I needed to do this.

"I'm sorry," I started, looking them both in the eyes, as I felt my heart plummet, even heavier than before. "I can't tell you; I can't hurt you anymore. I can't be a burden any longer. You deserve so much better than this, to be _happy_. You deserve so much better than me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. It was for the best.

If I said it enough, it would eventually make it easier. It was the best for them. I had to get them to let go; I was hurting them. And the odds were I wasn't going to survive this; I didn't want them to have to deal with the aftermath.

"Oh, Nick," Piper started, tears in her eyes. I knew she was hurting, but this pain was temporary. She'd be able to get over this. If I told her ... I wasn't sure Piper could handle that. I knew I couldn't.

"Please ... just go," I told her. "Don't make this harder. It's for the best."

"Fine," Al said bitterly. His eyes betrayed his hurt, though, and I knew he was barely holding it together. "Come on, Piper. Let's go." I closed my eyes, and heard the door slam loudly as Al left.

With their absence, the guilt started to recede off my chest. It was quickly replaced with loneliness, though, when I realized I had just lost my best friends. Al and Piper, who had been there from the beginning. Albus had been my partner in crime; my brother. And Piper, she was my rock, my perpetually optimistic genius of a best mate. I needed them. I needed them so much right now; I couldn't do this by myself. It was too much to bear.

But it was the right choice. To try to hold onto them would have been worse than selfish. I knew that, but it didn't make it any easier. I knew what was going to happen. I was going to die. I would never complete Hogwarts; I would never, as stupid as it sounded, snog a boy; I would never see Al and Piper's wedding, or their inevitable children. I had no future. It was as simple as that. And no one would care. Sure, the Slytherins would be sad for a while, but they'd move on. I'd slowly become nothing more than a faded face in an old photograph.

I was surprised again when the tears I expected didn't come. I just felt empty. I honestly didn't remember what happened after that, other than Madam Bones declaring me fit enough to leave.

So I meandered my way down to the dungeons. I received many glares from passing Hufflepuffs, as well as a good amount from Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. One kid actually threw a book at my head.

I didn't care, though. Let them throw stuff at me, maybe one would throw something sharp enough to kill me.

When I found myself in the common room, it was empty. I guessed it was dinner, but I didn't feel like going. I didn't want to face everyone, and food had no appeal. I just felt ... hollow. Like someone had carved me out; I guess without Piper and Al I really was heartless.

So crawling into bed, I drew my curtains and fell asleep the nightmares came. They hadn't come for a while, but they were back, and more horrifying than ever. The worst part was that I knew they wouldn't be dreams soon; it would be reality.

* * *

A few weeks had passed since that day. I had fallen into a steady routine; I left my dormitory as late as possible, went to classes, hid in my dormitory during lunch, more classes, went to sneak food from the kitchens, if I was even hungry, went to my first detention with Professor Zabini (where he made me do my essays, but most of the time I ended up staring at a blank piece of parchment), went to my normal detention, and somehow got back to the dormitory, when Piper was already sleeping. I usually just sat there all night, trying not to sleep. Because when I did, the nightmares always came. I was sure Piper heard the screams, but she ignored it.

During lessons I usually sat by myself, or Owen, and sometimes Scorpius would and try to talk to me. I avoided Al and Piper like the plague, and I never gave anyone a chance to catch me in the Great Hall or in the common room. I still felt empty, though. I had no emotions left; there was nothing left for anyone to hurt. Or to care about. But there was nothing I could do to hurt anyone at the same time. And that was what mattered.

And so here I was, sitting in Professor Zabini's classroom once again. Today he had given me a different task; correct my essays from him. They all had D's or T's in red ink at the top, the ones I did anyway. I knew my marks were well beyond 'below average', but I couldn't bring myself to care. And every other professor didn't, either ... except for Professor Zabini.

"Nick, I've noticed you've been acting different lately," Professor Zabini said suddenly, looking concerned. I didn't lift my head from my essays, though. "You're never with Al or Piper, or anyone else for that matter. You haven't said more than two words at the same time, and it's only when someone asks you. I'm worried about you, Nick. Christmas holidays start tomorrow; are you going to be okay?" My head snapped up from my essays. I hadn't realized how much time had passed. "I haven't seen you in the Great Hall, either, or the common room."

"I'm fine," I replied, trying to smile. It didn't work. "I've just been ... studying." But in my mind, I was panicking.

"Nick; I've seen your marks. I don't think you've been studying. What's been going on? You seem tired lately," he persisted, leaning on the desk in front of mine, his hands clasped. This was odd; Professor Zabini was never this ... cryptic. He usually just said what he was thinking and got on with it. _Like Al did._

"I've just had a few bad dreams, that's all," I dismissed. I didn't need him worrying about me, too. Anymore than he normally did.

"What about Piper and Al?" Professor Zabini pressed.

"Nothing's wrong," I replied. "We're perfectly fine."

"You and I both know that's a downright lie. If you and Al aren't causing some sort of havoc, something is very wrong. I haven't even seen you with them besides from classes, and even then it's because of my seating chart. And they're worried about you, Nick. We all are; even Flynn came up to me and asked where you where and what was wrong. And that was before they approached me in a group. The entire house, Nick. I'm worried about you; what's going on? You can tell me," Professor Zabini said, his voice heated at first, but softened when he talked about them worrying about me. No matter what I did, I just couldn't make them forget about me. They needed to; it was the only way. _Why couldn't they just move on?_ I'm not worth it!

"I'll tell you if I come back after break," I said before I could stop myself, laughing shakily. _What had I done?_ The look on Professor Zabini's face said it all; pure shock. And then something inside changed. I felt a tear slip out of my eye. _He really cared?_ So I took a deep breath, and launched into a story I had only told once before.

"There's has to be something I can do. Arrest him, certainly," Professor Zabini said when I was done. "You can't go back there."

"Unless _I _want to get arrested, I don't see what other choice I have," I replied, running my hand through my hair.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I've dealt with this stuff before, Nick. I could have done something. Plus, It's not good to keep it inside. Have you told anyone else?" Professor Zabini asked, now sitting next to me. I was staring at the desk. I still felt empty, but it was like a small piece of me had been returned. Someone gave a damn. Someone who didn't pity.

"Only Al and Piper know. And they've only known since the beginning of the school year. I just couldn't face it. But this year ... well, a lot's changed," I admitted, looking the professor in the face. His eyes were full of sadness.

"And for whatever reason you're not talking to them," Professor Zabini muttered to himself. "Nick, I'm sorry. I don't know what I can do, but I can't let you go back there. It's wrong."

"It's okay. Better me than some little kid," I told him, smiling weakly. "I'll be fine."

"You told me you thought you were going to die. That doesn't sound like okay to me, Nick," Professor Zabini said. In that moment, he reminded me so much of Albus. Al always told me that I wasn't okay. And he was always right.  
But hearing it again, someone telling me what I felt, with that _pity _in his voice, made the anger that had been lost in my numb state boil over. It was rushing to my head, and I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. God, I hadn't felt anything in a while, and the anger seemed to warm me. I actually felt alive.

"I'm fine!" I shouted, finally voicing what I had been thinking, going back to even when I told Al and Piper. "I don't need your pity! I don't need you to worry about me; I don't need _anyone_ to worry about me! I'm fine!"

"Nick-" Professor Zabini started, but I was sick of it. Everything was boiling over, exploding in my face. And I felt such a rush, feeling _something_, that I couldn't let it end.

"THIS IS WHY I DON'T TELL PEOPLE! BECAUSE THEY ACT LIKE _THIS_! I'M STILL ME; THERE'S NOTHING DIFFERENT ... SO WHY DO PEOPLE TREAT ME LIKE I'M A TIME- BOMB!" I shouted, before grabbing my bag and storming out. My heart was still pounding in my ears, and when I opened the door, Albus was waiting outside. I looked at him for a second, scared and embarrassed, before I brushed past him and kept walking. I didn't care where I was going. I just needed to get out. It was suffocating me again; everything I had tried to hide was back to the surface. I was alone, I was going to die, and if I didn't I was going to be arrested.

By the time I stopped walking, I was in the Astronomy tower, and I was breathing heavily. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't handle feeling. It was too much. I just wanted to be empty again. That way there would be no pain. I wouldn't care that I just told a _professor_that I was going to die, and I wouldn't give a damn that I had screamed like a three-year-old at him because he reminded me of Albus. Albus, who was right outside the door at the time.

By the time I had control of my breathing, I had sunk to the floor. I looked out at the edge, and something Albus had said came back to me.

_SCORPIUS THOUGHT YOU TRIED TO KILL YOURSELF _

I felt drawn to the ledge, and I started walking towards it. _Could the solution to all this really be that simple? _I was already dead inside; this didn't count as living. It was surviving, yes, but not living. And it wasn't like I was going to survive to see the new year, so _why not end it on my terms?_ It would be easy. I could jump right now.

But I knew I couldn't. It turned out some people gave a damn, and a suicide would be messy. It would be harder to move on from, say, an accident, which would surely happen to me over Christmas holidays. The ledge still tempted me. It offered a quick, painless death, more than I had hoped for.

No. I at least had to say goodbye. I owed them all that much. They had done so much for me, and to kill myself, without so much as a note, would be wrong. I couldn't do that to them; to Piper, Al, Scorpius, and even Owen. They deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt to tell them. I owed them that much. _But how to tell them without making them worry during break? _

And all of a sudden, I realized the emptiness wouldn't come back. I wanted the oblivion, because right now the pain was agonizing. _How did people deal with having hearts? _It was excruciating.

So I sat there on the ledge, looking up at the the sky. It was just as beautiful as it had been that night on the Quidditch pitch, but there was a light snowfall that made it seem surreal. In that moment, I realized it would probably be the last time I'd be able to stargaze at Hogwarts. Tomorrow I would be leaving, and the chances that I was going to return were as likely as Slytherin winning the house cup. There was an odd sense of peace, though, so I just stayed there. I didn't give a damn that I had completely blown off detention, or walked out on Professor Zabini. It was my last night at Hogwarts, and I was going to spend it up here. Screw everyone else. There wasn't much more they could do to me anymore.

And that was what I did. I had no idea how much time had passed, until I saw the sun was peeking over the horizon. I still had to figure out how to say goodbye, and I had to pack, so I sighed and started the trek back to the common room. When I got there, it was obvious that Al and Piper had been talking about me. They were the only two in the common room, and when I entered they jumped and started talking about jarveys animatedly. I just looked at them for a second, debating whether or not to tell them right now. No, there had to be a better way. A way that didn't let them worry, but let them know. Something they could find ...

Suddenly, I knew what to do. I walked up to the dorm, my heart beating fast. I dug out a quill and parchment and set to work.

When I was done, I had three sheets of parchment sitting in front of me. I already knew where I was going to put the one for Al and Piper, and all I needed was to perform the charms on Owen's and Scorpius's, so they would appear just after they left for the holidays.

Then I took the one for Albus and Piper and went into the bathroom. I looked at shower stall five in the girl's lavatory; the stall Piper and I had squabbled over for years. There were quotes and names, as well as countless swearwords, covering it, and I carefully pinned the letter there. Piper would find it when she came back. Looking at the wall, I smiled slightly, before taking out my wand and casting a spell. Now my name could join the legacy.

So I headed back to the dormitory, and found Piper packing as well. Trying to avoid a confrontation, I grabbed my rucksack and hurriedly threw in my few pairs of clothes.

"Nick?" Piper asked, seeing what I was doing. "You never go ... you never leave for Christmas," she said, and I felt my cheeks burn. "Where are you going?"

I didn't respond, but just kept packing.

"Nick?" Piper asked, her voice shaking. "I'm going to go get my toiletries, but when I come back you are going to talk to me." Now her voice was stern, and I felt my lips twitch a little at her voice, even though I was scared for what was to come. It was then I realized my mistake. I ran after Piper, before tackling her to the ground.

"What?" Piper exclaimed. "Nick ... what ... stop!" Then she wriggled out of my tackle and ran for stall five, where I had stupidly forgotten her stuff was. She would find the note. When she returned, Piper's face was almost pure white. "Nick?" Piper asked, holding the note. I panicked, and just grabbed my rucksack and bolted.

I knew where I was supposed to go. Because _he_ lived in such a remote place, I was Flooing with Dominique directly there, instead of taking the train. So I waited outside of the Headmaster's office, my thoughts racing.

Everything was crashing down. Piper and Al would know, and then they would tell Owen and Scorpius. They would all know. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. My breathing was becoming shallower and shallower, as my brain remembered where I was going to go. Pretty soon, I was practically gasping for air.

Until someone sat down next to me, and started rubbing my back. By the time I had calmed down enough to look up, I already knew who it was.

"Hey, Nick," Owen said softly, the letter in his hand. "I already knew. I heard Professor Zabini talking to Stebbins about bringing it up, after that day in Potions, but I guess now I know the whole thing." _He had known?_

"You knew?" I gasped out, looking him in the face.

"Yes. But that's not why I'm here. It's going to be okay; you're going to make it through this. It's only for three weeks. And, if, if it's that, that bad, please just run away. I'd rather have you be alive and in prison than dead. I don't think I could take it if you died," he told me softly, and I looked him in the eyes. He was always so honest. But it wasn't that easy.

"It's not that simple. And I'm going to die, Owen, there's no getting around it. He hates me, and he's not going to let me get away," I said, but Owen just put his arm around me.

"No, you're not. Because you're a fighter, damn it. One of the most stubborn people I know. So you need to cowboy the hell up and accept it, Nicole Warrington," he told me, looking into my eyes. Our faces were inches apart. Then, his lips met mine, and I could feel his fear and his sadness, and I was sure he could feel mine. But it was still sweet, and I felt my heart jump. I hadn't felt this way in a while. I was ... happy. Eventually, he pulled away, both of us blushing like mad, but his lips were still near my ear. "A fighter. Remember that," he whispered, before dropping something in my lap and walking away.

"Thanks, Owen," I whispered to his retreating form, but he still heard. He smiled at me. When I looked down, I saw that there was a new pair of trainers in my lap. I laughed, as my trainers had been the subject of ridicule all year, and he smiled again, before continuing to walk.

"I'll see you after break," he called, and I almost had to laugh again at his optimism. I just sat there after he left, smiling slightly at the thought of him. _**Could**__ I survive this? _

Maybe not, but Owen was right. I couldn't give up; I couldn't just let_ him _win. That wasn't who I was. I needed to fight, and if I died, at least I fought to the very end. God, Owen had given me at least something to live for. A kiss, as sweet as candy, but it was a promise. A promise that hope still existed, at least in that silly Hufflepuff's mind. It was what I needed to get through this.

Just then, Al and Piper came around the corner. I stood up, looking down awkwardly, until Al pulled me into a bone crushing hug. When he finally let go, Piper did the same, but she was crying.

"You're not dying on me, Nicole Warrington," she got out. She tried to wag her finger at me, by she just started crying and hugged me again. "I won't allow it."

"You'll be okay," Al said forcefully, and I had a feeling he was going to say more, but then Professor Zabini walked up. I was grinning; between the kiss from Owen and having my best friends back, I was feeling positively fuzzy inside.

"Did someone finally knock some sense into that girl?" he asked, but his smile was strained. That brought me back to reality, and I felt the smile slip off my face. Then the fear took its place, along with the slightly overwhelming sense of dread and sadness. "Nick, we have to go up now." Piper gave me another hug, and I felt a tear slide down my face. This might have been the last time I would ever see them.

"Okay," I said, and Al handed me my rucksack, before he, too, pulled me in tight.

"Give him hell," Al whispered. "Make him remember why he should never have messed with Nick Warrington." Then, he let go, and I started to feel alone again, even though he and Piper were standing right next to me. And I didn't understand how they were being so optimistic, either, but I suspected it was for me. It made me feel better, but that was all going to change in five minutes. When they were gone, I would be truly alone. It was just going to be me and him.

"See you. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," I managed to get out, before Professor Zabini herded me onto the staircase.

I knew what was coming was going to be horrible, but I couldn't help but smile back at them one last time. They thought I could survive this ... maybe I did have a chance.

One thing was for sure, though. I was going to fightmwith every last ounce of energy I had. I wasn't going to let him win. And if ... if I did lose ... I would go down fighting. Because that's who I was.

I was Nicole Warrington. I was a stubborn, violent, angry fighter.

I was a fighter.


	14. Hunter and Prey

**WARNING: This is a very violent chapter. If you are squeemish about abuse or violence, do not read this. It will be explained later, or if you are confused just leave a review and I can explain things in less graphic ways. Also, there is a lot of language in this as well. **

****As I listened to Dominique harp on about things I already knew about the situation, the elation the kiss had brought me was steadily fading into undiluted fear.

"Is that all you need for three weeks?" Professor Anselm asked, eyeing my rucksack. I just nodded; there wasn't much else I owned, apart from my school things. He shrugged to reply, as if to say 'if it suits you'. My relationship with that man had taken a turn for the better, as he actually found it difficult to watch a student walk to her doom. And to think I thought he had no heart ... he actually did give half a damn.

Sorry. It wasn't the time for sarcasm. It's better than crying, though.

"We'd better get going, Nicole," Dominique said, with an air of exasperation and superiority. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, even though my knees were shaking, as I started to follow her. Professor Zabini squeezed my shoulder, though, just as I was about to walk into the fireplace.

"Nick?" he asked, giving me a worried look. I knew what he was trying to say. I also remembered last night, and my little ... scene.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, but gave him a smile, to answer his question. "See you after the holidays, _sir_." I knew I was taking Owen's line, but it was what Professor Zabini needed to hear. He just laughed, giving me a smile that told me he was proud of me, no matter what was about to happen. Even though I planned on trying to come back, it made me glad I'd tied up all the loose ends. The ones that mattered, anyways. James Potter could gladly live the rest of his life not knowing it was me who put snakes in his bed.

"Nicole," Dominique snapped, and I followed her through the fireplace, taking one last look at Hogwarts out of Professor Anselm's window. When I arrived on the other side, my breath caught in my chest. It was almost exactly the same; the same worn sofa, the same hippogriff heads, and the same person.

Even though he was almost ten years older, probably just entering his forties, he looked almost exactly the same. Same tall, muscled frame, same lumpy nose, same crazy eyes, same cropped brown hair, same clothing. His hair was sprinkled with grey, though. But what scared me the most about him was the same smile, the one that sent shivers down my spine. I gripped my bag tightly, and tried to keep the tremor out of my voice.

"Hello, Justin," I greeted, and though my voice was strong, I was still shaking. Being in the same room with him was making me uneasy, and I was rediscovering the ways to escape. Because, Owen was right. If it came down to dying and running, it was what I would do. I wouldn't be brave enough to accept death.

"Nick," he replied coldly, his eyes running up and down my short frame. I felt downright uncomfortable now, and even Dominique looked slightly bothered.

"Where are the others? Liam said you had four other children here?" she asked, and he immediately switched from slightly creepy to charming.

"Oh, they're at school. I think it's good for them to be around Muggles, and their holiday doesn't start till next week," he replied smoothly, and Dominique looked slightly more assured.

"All right. I'll pick Nick up on the third," Dominique informed him, before walking back into the fireplace, quickly saying 'the Ministry of Magic'. Then, she was gone. I was frozen in place.

"Hello ..." he prompted, and I remembered what had been drilled into my head the first time I was here.

"Sir," I replied, mustering as much sarcasm as I could into the one syllable.

"Better, girl. I thought you might've forgotten," he admitted, before circling me. Then, as quick as a sphinx, he lashed out a fist. I knew it was coming, though, and dodged it.

"You've learned some new tricks," he noted, but I knew he was trying to make me cocky. He attacked again, this time with more rigour, and it was all I could do to deflect his blows. When I was seven, I had stood no chance. His punishments were simply insane, but at least he gave you the opportunity to fight him. He respected the right to fight back, to at least attempt to defend yourself. Until you landed a blow.

After a minute or so, I didn't see as he swept his foot low, and my feet came out from under me. I was defenceless, and lying on the floor. He tsked.

"Better, but not nearly good enough," he said briskly, but I noticed that his breathing was harder and faster. I had made him work. Satisfaction rushed through me, until he drew his fist back. I tried to roll away, but he had anticipated my move and pinned me down. I had lost the fight. There was no point even trying to fight what came next. There was nothing I could do about it. Eventually, I blacked out.

* * *

When I came to, my breath immediately sped up. I recognized the place immediately; the cellar, a permanent punishment for when he had reached his limit with you. There were three bunks, all secured to the wall with charms and bolts, in the dark room. Nothing more, nothing less. I saw that only one other bunk was in use, because there were two children, a boy and a girl, staring at me. Their eyes still had hope in them, despite their bruised faces. I tried to move, but found my hands were unnaturally heavy. I looked down, using the dim light from the single window, and figured out that there were magical bonds around my wrists that were attached to the wall nearest me. But these were special; every time I moved I felt a shot of pain in my wrist.

"So you're the girl he built the chains for?" the boy asked, scuttling down from the top bunk gingerly to get a better look at me. "He's been waiting for you for weeks."

"I guess so," I replied. "What's your name?" I wasn't very good with children normally, but it was different in places like these. I needed to be someone they could look to, at least that was how I felt about the older kids when I was their age. God, they couldn't have been older than ten. They were just **kids**, and they were being locked in a cellar and**beaten**. I wanted to vomit, or at least punch Justin in the face.

"Lucas," he replied, smiling. 'Lucas' winced, though, probably because of the large cut on his cheek. I knew what that meant. Otherwise, he looked a rather lot like Scorpius, in the basic sense. Blonde hair, grey eyes, but his nose was more curved, and he was a lot more lanky, and I could tell that when he was my age he would be a good foot taller than Scorpius. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nick," I replied, finally managing to sit up. My head exploded with pain, and black dots swam in front of my eyes.

"That's not a girl's name," the little girl replied. She couldn't have been older than seven, with bright red hair and a bruise over one eye. And obviously very logical. God, they were a mini Scorpius and Rose; I could already tell he was protective of her. "I'm Beth."

"I know a girl just like you," I responded, unable to stop myself. "And my real name is Nicole."

"Wicked," Lucas said with awe. "Do you go to Hogwarts? What house are you in?" I laughed again. They were still kids after all.

"She's sixteen, and a Slytherin," Beth answered for me. "My social worker is friends with hers, and hers was complaining about Nick before ... before I came here."

"Is it cool?" Lucas asked, and I hesitated. I thought about everything; the torments, the hexes, but then I thought about Lucas and Beth. Hogwarts was probably a symbol of hope for them. I couldn't ruin that.

"It's amazing," I responded, before glancing at the door. "We should be quieter, though, because I'm pretty sure we don't want him to come back."

"He can't hear us. The walls are probably a foot thick," Lucas said confidently.

"Extendable ears," I retorted. Beth laughed.

"Told you so," she told Lucas. I then learned that she was indeed seven, and that Lucas was nine, and that they generally travelled in a pair, because his social worker and hers knew that they were close. They had good social workers. Well, except for the fact that they were here in the first place ...

"You aren't going to fight us, are you?" Beth asked after a while, looking worried.

"If I do, I'll let you win," I promised her, and both she and Lucas gasped, before babbling on about punishments. "Sh," I said suddenly, and they both quieted. I gestured upward, hearing footsteps, and they both ran back to their bunks.

"Girl," Justin grunted, as he entered the room. Beth looked terrified for a second, until he walked over to me, wand in hand.

"Why hello, Justin," I greeted cheerfully, and he slapped me across the face. I didn't cry out, so he released the chains. My wrists were raw and bloody.

"Hold your tongue," he ordered, before grabbing me by the hair. Lucas and Beth looked terrified, but I just let him haul me off. I mouthed that I was fine to them, and they relaxed a bit. I was anything but, though; I knew where I was going.

Another small concrete room, with pads on three of the walls, weapons on the fourth. You should think twice before trying to grab one, though; they were cursed. That was when I knew just how angry he was. He wanted to beat me up again already. There was never so little time in between them before …

"Still as charming as it was ten years ago," I commented after he threw me to the floor.

"Shut up, bitch," he barked. I wasn't fazed, though.

"Ah, but I was just commenting on the decour," I pushed. He wasn't going to break me this time.

"You need to learn how to shut your mouth," he said, before circling me again. It was only then that I realized he still had his wand out. Though he couldn't use unforgivables, there were a hell of a lot of other curses he could.

Merlin, _how had I done this when I was seven? _My survival skills had been almost non-existent, because Dominique had only been my social worker for one home (and all I remembered about that one was dropping a wine glass then waking up in St. Mungo's), and my other one hadn't thought I was devil spawn. So it was really only the second bad home I'd been in. I hadn't been prepared for the reality of it, but I learned quickly while I was here. Everyone did. I learned to not care if I hurt someone else if survival demanded it, and to get over it if they hurt me. I learned that caring about people was useless, because in situations like these they could turn on you in an instant if _their _survival instincts told them to. Hearts and feelings were as useless as music and rainbows in the bad homes.

Looking back, it had started out okay. I'd had a little purple room I shared with two girls, but he wasn't violent in the beginning. I would go to school, do chores, and maybe get yelled at for making a mistake. But after a while, it had started to spiral down. I worried, and made more mistakes, and eventually he got sick of it, and that was when he started beating me up. Eventually it got to the point where my body had become immune normal healing spells, so I couldn't go to school. And I was too stupid anyway, he told me, so that was when I was introduced to the cellar. That was when I had realized just how bad it was.

I was yanked from my thoughts by a curse that knocked me into the wall. I got up quickly, ignoring the pain, just in time to dodge a purple jet of light. Then another. And another. I made the mistake of looking down for a moment, though, and saw a very faint bloodstain. _My_ blood, after he had used _that_ curse. I had to shut the memory out, because I needed to keep dodging. If I was to stand half a chance, though, I needed to disarm him. So I lunged at him, but he cast a petrifying charm. My arms and legs snapped together, and the back of my head hit the floor. I saw stars.

"Bold move," he admitted. "You're one of the only fighters. The others just take it."

"The others are just _kids_," I ground out, learning I could only move my mouth. "You sick-"

"What were you going to say?" he roared, but I wasn't scared. He couldn't kill me yet; the fun had just begun. He had a whole three weeks to use up before killing me.

"You're a sick bastard. They're not even _ten_," I replied, not backing down. He let out a yell, before pulling something out of his pocket. I saw a flash of silver before I felt blood run down my face. He attacked again, and blood ran down my left arm, before I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder. When I looked, there was a hilt of a knife sticking out of it. Screaming in agony, tears began to run down my face, mixing with the warm blood. But the curse was starting to lose its effect- it wasn't his best- but I was still defenceless. The knife was still in my shoulder.

"Now you listen here, you stupid bitch," he whispered, putting his mouth right by my ear. "You're all rotten, and nothing good can come from you. You have bad blood, and nothing can change that. Your parents are who your parents are, and you're all a sour lot," he spat. My eyes were blurry with tears of agony, but I could still see his terrifying expression as he yanked the knife out of my shoulder, before wiping the blood off on my shirt. He released the curse, grabbed me by the hair again, and hauled me off. I blacked out before we got to the room, though.

* * *

"Do you think she's dead?"

I opened my eyes, and felt a searing pain in my shoulder. And then I jerked, before feeling another jolt of pain go up my arm. Damn bonds. Anyway, I had reacted so violently because two faces had been looming above me. It took me a minute to realize that they were the faces of Lucas and Beth.

"Obviously not. She's awake," Beth replied, rolling her eyes.

"You must have really pissed him off," Lucas told me with awe. "It took him weeks before he even started hitting me. You got the knife within the first twenty-four hours."

"Don't be an idiot, Lucas," Beth scolded. "You need to be more careful, Nick. He almost killed you." She sounded so much like Rose then, I had to laugh. Then stopped when I realized who else she sounded like. Piper. I tried to work my way into a sitting position, but it was too hard with the pain in my shoulder. I was sure I didn't want to look at it, but when I bit the bullet I discovered that it was neatly wrapped in a (albeit blood stained) white bandage that pinned my arm to my stomach. My wrist was still in the bond, though.

"What's funny about this?" Beth asked at my second of laughter, before crossing her arms. _She was only seven? _

"Nothing. You just reminded me of someone I know," I told her, trying to smile. I couldn't, though, because the physical pain was too much, and the emotional was even worse. So I dug my wrist into the bond, trying to stop the tears I wanted to cry. Crying wouldn't get me anywhere. It was pointless and a waste of energy.

But, when I tried to sit up again, I almost passed out from the pain. I heard Lucas swear.

"What should we do?" he asked Beth, obviously panicking.

"I'm fine. It's just my ruddy shoulder," I ground out. I tried sitting up once more, and found I could. My breathing quickened, and then my stomach seemed to contract itself, and tears of pain sprung into my eyes. I had forgotten; I hadn't eaten in at least a day, maybe two. I doubled over, clawing at my stomach with my good arm, and saw the black starting to creep into the ends of my vision.

"I'd forgotten. Beth," Lucas said, but she was already gone. When Beth came back, she was holding a sandwich. I grabbed it and scarfed it down greedily.

"Thanks," I managed to get out through a mouthful of food. Suddenly, a thought came to me.

"Why aren't you two in school? The last time I was here, he always had us go. Patched us up, too, so the Muggles wouldn't ask questions," I asked.

"It's the last week before Christmas holidays. So Beth and I are 'sick'," Lucas explained. "That way he _doesn't_ have to worry about patching us up."

"Nicole," Beth started, looking at my probably furious face. Her voice was as soft as cat's fur. "Did you fight him?" I nodded, and she burst into tears. "Why? He'll just hurt you more! Why are you even here?"

I sat there for a second, debating what I should do. Then, as if I was possessed, (I would never have done this normally) I pulled her into a hug. I realized that she was way too bony; he'd have a hard time making her look healthy when it was time for her to leave.

"Why didn't you just stay at Hogwarts?" Lucas asked, his voice cracking. I sighed, debating whether or not to just tell them instead of making up some lame excuse. It wasn't as if they wouldn't understand, despite their age. So I launched into my story, and when I was done, both of their faces were pure white.

"The blood on the floor ... it's yours?" Beth asked, and I just nodded. It had been hard enough telling the story within the safety of Hogwarts, but here ... it made it that much harder. Beth burst into tears again, saying how she didn't want me to die, or get arrested, or leave. I just hugged her with my good arm, but it was Lucas, surprisingly enough, who pulled her off, murmuring what Beth needed to hear. Again, Rose and Scorpius. Case closed. But in truth, I was really grateful. I was horrible at this sort of thing, but I had to at least try ... for them. Then, the door flew open.

"Well, isn't this _touching_," Justin sneered, before grabbing Lucas and Beth and dragging them away. I screamed and fought at the bonds, ignoring the excruciating pain, but it was no use. They were gone. So I just sat and waited as the light slowly left the room. Eventually, it was pitch-black, and I couldn't help but feel terrified. _What was he doing to them? _I dug my wrists into the bonds, trying to numb the fear with pain. Pretty soon my wrists were wet with blood again, but I didn't care. It was working; the pain was stopping me from focusing on what could be happening to Beth and Lucas. But I still just had to sit there and wait in the pitch black, as the hours passed. The worst part was, as much as I hoped I was wrong, I knew what sick game Justin was playing.

He was making them fight each other.

And there was nothing I could do to help them. And as the hours passed, neither of them came back. Eventually, though, as the light slowly re-illuminated the cellar, the door opened again. Beth, with her bloody lip and already flowering bruises, was thrown into the room. She was downright sobbing.

"Lucas ... he tried to let me win ... but _he _knew ..." Beth gasped out, before crawling onto her bunk and breaking down. I dug my wrists in harder; Merlin knew what Lucas was facing. But I, too, soon succumbed to exhaustion.

* * *

The next week passed in the same cycle of pain. Justin didn't take out his knife again, but I knew it was only a matter of time. He was slowly becoming more and more angry with my remarks and ability to dodge. (But, to be honest, I was losing that ability. Beth said my face looked like pulp, and I could hardly see because it was so swollen) He needed to feel my pain, to pay back the little bitch who'd almost sent him to Azkaban when she was seven. I didn't give a damn, though, because Lucas never came back. Beth was going mad, screaming his name in the middle of the night, and I felt rage bubble inside of me whenever I was forced to look at Justin's face. It was one thing to beat the magic out of me ... but he shouldn't hurt little kids. They didn't do anything wrong. Beth didn't even know who her parents _were. _

My only outlet was through fighting him. But the wound to my shoulder wasn't getting better, and he was going to stop letting me fight soon. I knew that. It was manageable, though, until the day before Christmas Eve. That was when everything spiralled out of control.

* * *

"LUKE!" Beth screamed, obviously having just been woken up from a nightmare. I hadn't been sleeping, (how could I with _him_ up there?) and just sighed as Beth crawled down from the top bunk to cuddle with me. I just held her as she cried, trying not to wince as the shaking of her body brought the hurt back to mine. Justin hadn't taken her since the incident with Lucas, but the bastard knew that by leaving her down here he was hurting her more than what he could have done with a wand or knife. Beth's pain was killing me. It was why I was fighting so hard, though I knew Al and Piper would be screaming at me to stop digging myself deeper if they were here. I could hardly move anymore.

"Nick?" Beth asked suddenly, her voice quiet.

"Yeah, Beth?" I replied, my voice as soft and caring as I could muster. I was furious, but I couldn't let it show. She was only a little kid.

"Can I see your photographs? I know you look at them," she asked, and I sighed. When Al had hugged me, he had slipped three photographs into my pocket. I hadn't noticed them until a few days ago, but now I couldn't stop looking at them. All three of them were taken on Halloween, and two without my knowledge. Scorpius must have taken the first, because it was when Owen had been swinging me around in the Astronomy tower, and we were smiling and laughing like loons. The next was of Scorpius and me, just talking, and I guessed Rose had taken it. The last one was probably my favourite, though; it was of Al, Piper, and I, arms flung around each other and smiling, the last traces of spooky make-up on our faces. In truth, during the past week I couldn't stop looking at all three photos, wondering if I would ever see my friends again. They were what held me together.

"Sure," I replied, pulling them out of my pocket. Beth just stared at them, smiling. Then she turned to me.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Owen, Scorpius, and Al and Piper," I replied, gesturing to each one when I said their name.

"Are they your friends?" Beth asked. She was so innocent sometimes, and her eyes widened at everything I said. Again, I had to suppress the rage bubbling inside of me, as I thought of how she screamed for Lucas every time she fell asleep. _How could anyone do that to her? _Oh, I knew how. Justin was a heartless excuse for a human being. Still, I kept my voice calm. For her.

"Yes," I replied, and Beth smiled. I didn't notice the footsteps as I answered all of Rose's questions about my friends. Her favourite was Scorpius, but I knew why. Scorpius was what Lucas would be like when they got to be our age. If he was even alive.

Just then, the door swung open. Justin didn't even say anything, just pulled Beth off of me and released the bonds. After a week in them, my wrists were almost always bleeding. Then I felt an agonizing pain as his hand dug into my right shoulder, and I couldn't help but cry out. Beth let out a squeak of fear, but he just pushed her out of the way before hauling me out of there. Two of my photographs clashed to the floor. I knew something was off; I could practically feel his rage. I had done something. I had no idea what, but I had something bad.

When we got to his little torture chamber, Justin threw me to the floor. Wasn't it sad? I didn't even know his last name; I had only heard my old social worker call him by his first name once, so that was what I identified him as. I would forever hate the rest of the Justins in the world.

Then, he put the bonds back on. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I struggled to turn around to see his face. This situation practically screamed 'danger'. When I finally managed it, he was standing over me. In his hands were three things. His wand, the knife, and a belt.

"Well ... what do you chose?" Justin asked, his beady eyes gleaming twistedly. I wasn't just going to answer, though.

"Where's Lucas?" I asked defiantly. I knew I was going down, but I was going to fight until the very last minute. Justin just laughed crazily, and I felt fear wrap itself around me. I had never seen him like that before.

"Your stupid social worker is just like you. Stubborn, insufferable, and always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. She was just here, seemed to think I wasn't doing a good job of taking care of you. Don't worry, a little bit of polyjuice potion and that was taken care of," he responded. "I don't know why she cared, though. You're a rotten egg, Nicole Warrington. Bad parents, bad kids. I can't let the cycle continue." _Dominique actually checked up? _No. That wasn't what I could dwell on right now.

"Tell me what happened to Lucas, and I'll play your stupid game," I bargained, my voice shaking with fear.

"He's fine. Staying in an upstairs room now," Justin said, smiling evilly. Rage gnawed at the fear, thinking how much he had put Beth through. But even that couldn't get through the terror. "So what'll it be, girlie?"

I thought for a moment. The smartest decision would be the belt, obviously, then the wand, because it was easier to dodge spells, then the knife, because it was his best weapon. The belt was what he expected me to choose; the _Slytherin _decision. Well, fuck him and his mind games.

"The knife," I replied, swallowing my fear. Justin grinned evilly. It didn't matter; it was going to be over soon.

* * *

_What had I done? _

I had gotten him to accidentally break the bonds with the knife. He didn't know that, though, and I was waiting for the perfect moment to escape. So far it had been bearable; little gashes here and there. He wanted to torture me; he wouldn't kill me quickly. Until he raised the knife over my stomach, just like he had nine years ago. That's when I knew I had to act. I knocked it out of his hand while kicking at his head, and managed to catch it.

Justin had came charging at me, disoriented by the blow I had landed, and he didn't see the knife in my hand. He ran right into it.

It was lodged in his stomach, but with a roar he yanked his wand and cast a healing charm. Already the blood was diminishing. When he reached me, I froze. He pushed me against the wall, and his voice was low, barely audible.

"You better run, girl," he growled, before stumbling away to heal himself properly. I knew he was being serious, so I bolted.

But I couldn't help but think this was going to be the last time I ever ran. He was going to come after me. This was still all part of his sick fantasy. Like a hunter after a hippogriff.

Except I was the prey in this game.


	15. And miles to go before I sleep

When I got out of the house, I smashed my teeth into the inside of my cheek, trying to hold the tears back. There were woods surrounding the cabin. _Where could I go?_The last time, I had seen a path that I had followed. There was no way I was going to do that again; he'd find me in five minutes. So I turned a quarter of a circle away from the path. He'd expect me to go the exact opposite, so I'd do something different. I could only hope he wouldn't think of that, too.

Then I took off. Trying to make as little of noise as possible, I staggered through the forest. I knew we were somewhere in Hampshire, probably in New Forest, which Godric's Hollow bordered ... on the east side of the forest, I think. If I could get there ... that was where Albus lived.

But that was the direction of the path. _Was it a risk I was willing to take?_It was my only chance. I had to do it. But I wouldn't follow the path; I would stay a way off of it.

So I set off. Stumbling, trying to stop myself from leaving a trail of my own blood for him to follow. Every once in awhile, I thought I heard the sound of footsteps following me, and part of me childishly thought of werewolves, though it wasn't the full moon. That just made me run faster, but after a while I had to stop. I was weak. So I walked. I couldn't stop completely; he was already coming after me.

And I didn't- until I saw pink invade the previously pitch black sky. It was then my adrenaline faded, and I truly felt the pain and freezing cold. Knowing that I would have to decide between shivering or slowly bleeding to death, I ripped my shirt and hastily tied strips of it around the worst cuts. Once that was done and the dryness of my mouth became clear, I knew I had to keep moving; there was a stream around here somewhere.

Eventually, I found one. It looked clear enough, and I wasn't in a position where I could be picky. I gulped and gulped the freezing water, but stopped when I saw my reflection. There was nothing I recognized; my face was a mess of dried blood and bruises. That was when the shivering started, as I only had a thin sweater on. Pulling it tighter around me, I just kept walking.

The day continued in the same way. I couldn't find any plants that looked edible, so I just filled my stomach with water. But the pain was slowly getting worse, and I was biting back screams with each step. Eventually, the biting cold dulled to numbing, and I couldn't feel my feet or my hands anymore. So I just kept walking.

By the time the sun faded again, I was exhausted. I was bruised and cut even more from constantly falling, and my stomach was planning a mutiny. It was twisting and contracting, but there was nothing I could do. I hadn't seen any recognizable plants yet, and there was not an animal to be found. Even the tree-bark was too frozen to pull off and eat.

The trees started to become blurry as I kept stumbling, and my thoughts were jumbled and fuzzy. I'd thrown up all the water I'd drank that day, and I was pretty sure I'd pass out if I took another step. Shivering violently, my sweat soaked clothes seemed to freeze onto me, adding to the cold. But I couldn't stop, I had to keep going. My entire body was shaking against the cold, though, and it was after I tripped over a root that I decided to sit down on a log. Somewhere in the back of my fuzzy brain realised how beautiful the forest was. Snow was falling lightly, dusting everything, making the forest look magical. If I was going to die, I wanted to die here … yeah. He could find me here. I was tired, and it was pretty here. My eyelids slowly closed, and for once, I felt at peace.

_When my eyes opened again, I was in the same clearing I'd passed out in. It was warmer, though, probably spring, and there were flowers everywhere. Patterning the blue dress I'd found myself in, braided into my flowing hair. There was not a bruise nor scar to be seen. Where was I?_

'Nicole?' a voice asked. When I stood up, I saw that it was Piper. She was snuggled against Albus, wearing a pure white sundress. They looked so perfect. Had they finally gotten together?

'Why are you here?' I replied, and Piper just laughed. Albus was smiling passively, his arm protectively around her shoulder.

'Where else would we be?' he replied, but it was then I noticed there was something cold about his smile. 'How are you, Nicole?' This was becoming odd. They never called me Nicole. But I still smiled. At least they were here.

'Fine. I'm just so glad you're here,' I told them honestly, and was met with the same smiles. This time my smile faltered. 'Does this mean I'm close to Godric's Hollow?' Albus nodded, and I could have cried with happiness.

'It's almost over,' Piper said sweetly, and I felt the sudden urge to hug her. So I tried to, but Albus struck me down before I could reach her.

'You don't get to touch her. You're filth, Nicole. Just look at you,' he said as he leered over me. I did; the flowers surrounding me were all dead and frozen. I looked just as I had when I'd fallen asleep. Albus looked different, too; his eyes were an unnatural red, and his teeth were oddly pointed.

'Al?' I croaked, as Piper laughed maniacally.

'He doesn't want to talk to you. You're not worthy of us. In fact, I wouldn't wish you on anyone,' she said, and suddenly, she exploded into flames, which turned into hundreds of rats.

'Look what you did!' he roared, before picking me up and throwing me into the tree. From his mouth poured a million spiders, and I screamed and writhed as they crawled all over me; into my mouth and nose, through my hair, inside my clothing. Through the black haze I swore I saw Owen.

'Help me! Please!' I cried, but he just joined Al. They both laughed, and Owen drew a knife.

'Why did I ever want to kiss her?' he asked Albus, who made a face.

'It must have been a lapse of judgement. She's a dirty little mongrel,' Al replied, and they both laughed hysterically as I tried to roll away from the spiders.

'PLEASE!' I begged, tears pouring down my face. 'HELP ME!' They both just laughed, before an eerie howl penetrated the night. Then the spiders crawled into my eyeballs, and it all went dark.

My eyes immediately shot open. I heard a growl, and the crashing of something moving towards the forest- at me. Ignoring all of the pain, I bolted. My life depended on it.

I tore through the forest, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Branches whipped at my face, rocks and fallen trees appeared out of the blackness to trip me up. I just kept running, though, as I heard the pounding feet come closer and closer. Sobbing, I tried to run faster, and came to a clearing. Looking around frantically, I saw that at the end of the clearing was a cliff. Over the cliff I could see a small town, and there were lights and laughter coming from a few of the houses, but the one nearest especially. I was almost there. I could still make it. Turning to run again, I saw a huge shape come barrelling out of the darkness.

I was cornered.

Still shivering (quite violently) I braced myself for what was coming. As the shape became clearer as the moonlight slowly illuminated the creature, the remaining breath I had left my chest.

_It_, whatever it was, was huge; it must have been twice my size. It looked like a dog, but with razor sharp claws and teeth. And its eyes- they glowed an eerie greenish-yellow. It growled, and from behind the creature stepped Justin.

"I knew I would find you eventually. I didn't expect you to make it this long, though. Clever idea- running towards Godric's Hollow. But it's still a good half mile away," he said, and through my chattering teeth I tried to manage a reply.

"You..." I started, but I couldn't continue. Part of me thought I was hallucinating the giant creature. It wouldn't surprise me, after the dream I had just had.

"Oh, go at it. What am I? I'm really interested to hear your last words, Nicole Warrington," he taunted, but I just stared at the creature. I thought it was real, but he didn't seem to notice it. "Ah, I can assure you that my hellhound here is in fact, real." _How had he done that? _

"What..." I started, but I fell to my knees, my legs having given out. My eyes were slowly closing, as I felt my entire body shake with cold. My head felt like it weighed twenty pounds, and I was struggling to keep myself from collapsing completely.

"I was hoping for more of a fight out of you, Warrington," he sighed. "I guess not. _Destroy her_," he hissed, and I looked up just in time to see a huge, black mass come flying at me. I heard myself scream.

I had enough instinct to shield my face as it slashed at me, pinning me to the floor. With the force of the blow, though, I realized I was about three inches away from the edge of the cliff, and I could see two tiny people below, starting to run away from the house with all the noises. Was that Albus's house? Had I been that close?

Then the hellhound started pushing me, and I knew what it was doing. I fought as hard as I could, trying desperately to throw it off, but it was too strong. Just as I felt my head fall over the edge of the rocky cliff, my muscles exploded in agony, and I vaguely heard someone screaming. When I looked, I saw the hellhound was flying over the cliff, before exploding. _Had I done that? Or was it Christmas … no dark summons can be maintained on Christmas …_

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, Justin was standing over. I screamed and cried, but I couldn't move a muscle. _What had I done?_The terror set in. I couldn't fight; whatever I had done to get rid of the hellhound had rendered me paralysed.

There was a flash before more sticky red liquid joined the flood already staining the front of my shirt. I realised I didn't feel cold anymore, though. I actually felt quite warm. Justin moved to slash me again, and I knew this was my last chance to end it. _For Luke. For Rose. For Albus and Piper. For Owen and Scorpius. For Flynn. For the rest of the Slytherins. _

He couldn't hurt anyone else. I knew my fight was over, but I could stop him from ever touching someone again. So as the blackness crept into the edge of my vision, I kicked my legs as hard as I could. My muscles screamed in protest, as did I, but when my vision cleared for a moment I saw him lying on the ground, the point of his own knife sticking out of his back as he lay face down a few feet from me.

I let out one last scream before the blackness crept in. There was shouting, and suddenly Albus, or at least a hallucination of him, was in the middle of the haze. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized what day it was, or would be in a matter of hours, and smiled weakly, fumbling in my pocket to show him the only photograph I had managed to save.

Albus grabbed my hand, though, and I heard him telling me that it would be okay, but it sounded like he was miles away. I could feel grip tighter, as his voice slowly slipped farther and farther away. An old Muggle poem Piper had made me read a few times crept into my brain, as the image of the clearing slipped in front of my eyes. It fit that beautiful place perfectly. _But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep._Eyes jerking open, I realised I had something I needed to do, a promise I needed to keep. There was another mile to go before I could sleep in the clearing. I managed to grab the photograph, and used the hand that was on my chest, covered in sticky red liquid that something in the back of my mind registered as blood, to write something on the back. There was so much more I needed to do, but there wasn't enough time. I felt myself slowly slipping, falling into the dark abyss, as the snow hit my face. Albus's grip seemed to go loosen, and his words were almost inaudible. I tried to fight it, to tell Albus one thing, realising what day it was.

"Happy Christmas, Al." Then the blackness came to take me away, as the last stanza was recited softly in my brain. For I second I realised how ironic it was, how the voice and I were exact opposites. But the lull of lullaby was too strong, and I slipped away into the abyss.

_The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep._

_**End of Part One.**  
_


	16. Interlude

"Albus, can I come in?" a voice asked, and Albus sat up on his bed. He had spent most of the holiday in his room, hiding from everyone and owling Piper. Of course, Albus had been 'asked' by James (their mum had made him) to games of Quidditch and rounds of Exploding snap, but Albus never joined. James didn't want him there, and Albus was too worried about Nick to take part in a petty game anyway. How could he focus when his friend might _die_? He needed to be more careful, though; even his mum, who never noticed a bloody thing, knew something was wrong.

"Fine, Mum," Al replied, quickly hiding the letter he had been writing to Piper under his pillow. They had been exchanging theories and eavesdropping for news all holiday, but neither had heard anything. Albus guessed that was the only good news. Still … he couldn't wait to go back to school. This whole dilemma would be over, and Nick would be fine.

The scary thing was, Albus couldn't even convince himself anymore. They were in too deep for any hope of a happy ending; no matter what, they would never be the same. Some scars could never heal. Nick was living evidence of that.

Ginny Potter entered, interrupting her son's thoughts, before putting her hands on her hips. Al wondered what he had done to piss her off this time.

"Are you just going to hide in your room the entire holiday?" she asked edgily, and Albus sighed, almost preferring her normal clueless state to this … concern. He knew better than to reply, though. "I know something's wrong, you know. Contrary to what you think, I'm not an idiot." Ginny Potter still received no reply, not even a slight reaction. Albus used to be the most open of her children, but now she couldn't hope to read him. What had happened?

Something was different about her son. When she sat down next to him, Albus immediately looked down. He was so cold, so detached. This wasn't the Albus she knew. There was something going on, but Ginny hadn't a clue what. Albus never owled home; he never told her anything. James and Lily didn't know, either. No one did. It was like Albus was closing himself off.

The only person Ginny could think of who might know was Neville's daughter, Piper. But she was every bit as reserved and cold as her son. They acted as if it was them against the world. Ginny had only met their other friend- Nicole- once, but in her opinion Nicole was the worst of them all. The only time she had spoken was to thank Ginny or offer to help with something. The rest of the time her lips failed to respond.  
It made Ginny wonder what could have possibly been so bad about their lives. They didn't have a war to fight. They didn't have someone trying to kill them and everyone they loved.

And Ginny was sick of it. Albus needed a dose of perspective; he had no bloody idea how easy his life was. He couldn't go on locking himself in his room just because one thing went wrong.

"All right. I'm done playing games with you, Albus Severus Potter. You are going to tell me what the hell is going on with you, and why you're acting someone just died," she ordered, and Albus winced at the last bit. His reaction confused Ginny, but her anger took over and she ignored it.

Albus laughed bitterly. "You wouldn't understand," he retorted, and Ginny saw just how cold and unforgiving his eyes were. This wasn't her son. It couldn't be. He wasn't a cruel person … she hadn't raised him that way. _Right?_ The anger disappeared in an instant, and it was replaced with sadness. What was wrong with her son?

"Really? I went through some pretty scarring stuff in my day, you know," she coaxed, but yet again there was no response. Ignoring the twinge of annoyance, Ginny tried again: "Seriously, Al, I doubt-" Albus tensed up in anger.

"You don't know," he cut her off, his voice empty. "You have no idea."

That was when Ginny's patience wore out. She had put up with this for five years; she was done.

"What are your big problems, then? Isn't this what you want … the attention?" No matter how much she had tried to deny it at first, Ginny was sure this was the truth. Whatever he was going through, it didn't amount to anything in the real world. He was sixteen.

"Thank you for proving my point," Albus replied coldly, before standing up and walking over to the window. His mother was so damn clueless; she probably actually believed that the war had solved everything. (Whereas in Albus's opinion, the war had just created more problems.)

"Seriously, what is _so_ depressing in your life you can't even talk to your own bloody family?" Ginny asked, raising her voice. Quick as a viper, Albus turned around.

"Why do you think I won't tell you? You _won't_ get it! Everything you did was _obviously_ so much more dangerous and important than anything that could be happening to me! Open your eyes, woman! This isn't some sudden bout of teenage angst! Why don't you ask Lily about what happens at school, or why James and I beat the shit out of each other last August? But no, it's my fault. It always is. I'm the demon child, the mistake. I'm the Slytherin." The words were filled with such hatred, especially 'Slytherin'. Ginny took a step backward out of sheer surprise, but ran into her husband.

"Hullo, _Dad_," Albus spat. It was too far to turn back, so he might as well get everything off his chest.

"What did you just say to your mother?" Harry Potter's voice was deathly calm. Albus just raised an eyebrow, knowing his father was about a millimetre away from snapping. He had become very good at judging these types of things; he had spent most of the year seeing just how far he could push his professors.

"I think you knew what I said." Albus replied, wanting to fuel the fight. It had been so long since he'd actually fought with his father. Even longer, though, since the last time he'd had a conversation with him. "And you know it's true." Albus watched with satisfaction as Harry Potter reached his breaking point.

"ALBUS POTTER!" he roared. It was met with a glare. Inside, though, Albus felt sickeningly sweet satisfaction. "I WILL NOT HAVE YOU SPEAK TO ME- OR YOUR MOTHER- LIKE THAT! WE ARE YOUR _PARENTS_!" At this, there was merely an eyebrow raise. Albus felt himself repressing a smile, though, as he watched his father's face slowly progress through the shades of red. "AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT DELUSION YOU THINK THIS IS, BUT YOU'RE WRONG! NO ONE HATES SLYTHERINS; THIS ISN'T LIKE THE WAR! YOU'RE JUST BEING A CHILD, ALBUS! YOU NEED TO GROW UP! I'VE GOTTEN ABOUT TEN TOO MANY OWLS FROM PROFESSORS ABOUT YOUR IMMATURITY AND CHEEK AND I'M SICK OF IT! GROW UP, ALBUS; WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!"

In those ten seconds, it all faded away, leaving only hurt behind. That was what Harry Potter really thought? He thought that this was all in Albus's head? _He_ was the delusional one.

"YOU DON'T KNOW A FUCKING THING!" Albus yelled in return, anger flooding his body. Everything was just breaking inside; every nerve snapped. The words had poured out of his mouth. Albus should have known there'd be consequences, though.

"ALBUS SEVERUS!" If Albus thought his father's voice was loud before, it was nothing compared to what it was now. He looked murderous; Albus had never seen his father _this_angry. "WE DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BE LIKE THIS! YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME IN THAT TONE, AND YOU NEED TO STOP LIVING IN YOUR LITTLE DELUSIONAL WORLD! I AM SICK OF YOU ACTING LIKE A CHILD!" Harry Potter stopped, apparently too livid to go on.

"YOU'RE WRONG! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S TRUE! YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN TO A THING I SAY, AND YOU NEVER NOTICE A FUCKING THING! OPEN YOUR EYES AND STOP BLAMING ME FOR EVERYTHING! IT'S YOUR FAULT, ANYWAY! THE WAR DIDN'T SOLVE ANYTHING; YOU ACCOMPLISHED _NOTHING_!" Albus yelled back. Something positively dangerous flashed in his father's eye, and before Albus knew what was happening, his father's hand flew towards his face.

Albus felt his head snap to the side from the force, but he was too stunned to react. Harry Potter had never once laid a hand on any of his children. He promised himself he wouldn't, after growing up at the Dursley's. Eventually, Albus's wits returned to him, and he managed to keep his voice from shaking. "You still think what you did actually meant something?"

But Harry was too shocked to retort. He was still staring at his hand.

"Albus, I-" he started to apologize after a while, but Albus was done.

"Save it," he spat. Albus almost felt guilty, seeing the look of absolute self-loathing on his father's face, but his own didn't soften. His dad had gone too far. Knowing he had no hope of talking reason with Albus, Harry slowly walked out of the room, his face a swirling mass of guilt, anger, and shock. Ginny started to follow, but paused a foot from the door.

"Don't you dare come out of this room until I tell you to," she ordered, before turning on her heel and running after her husband.

It was only then Albus lifted his hand to his cheek, still staring after his parents, and swearing under his breath. Emotions swirled around too fast in his head; anger, hurt, betrayal … but it was mostly hurt. His parents were worse than the professors; they actually _wanted_ to believe that what they had done actually meant something, that everything was okay.

Oh, how wrong they were.

* * *

A few hours later Albus was trying to ignore the still red mark on his cheek. The constant reminder of what happened just fuelled his anger, and being confined in a small space didn't help. He had received no reply from Piper; his parents must have intercepted her owl. It was just Albus and his thoughts. It was just Albus and Nick.

He saw Nick running, a faceless man chasing her with a bloody sword. Now she was lying on the ground, the light leaving her eyes. Nick was crying in the corridor. No, now her lifeless body was being lowered into the ground. No one was there. It was raining blood.

Albus's mind was a confusing mess of worries, what-ifs, and what-could-be's. It always was, but especially when he was alone. So he focused on tossing a Quaffle at the ceiling.

"You just have to keep pissing everyone off, don't you?" Albus stopped tossing the Quaffle and sat up on his bed to find his brother standing in his room. "Mum and Dad are still 'discussing' whatever shit you did."

"Get out," Albus said coldly, but James just smirked. The urge to punch the look off his face overcame Al, but he just took a shaky breath and pushed down his emotions.

"Wait … what's wrong with your face?" It dawned on James. "He didn't …" His brother's face was positively gleeful. "What the hell did you do?"

"What happened?" Suddenly Lily was in Albus's room, too. She paused, taking in the room. It had been years since she'd seen the inside.

"Dad slapped Albus!" James responded, smiling. Lily's face fluctuated from shocked to worried, then angry, and finally settled on the normal one that looked like she was smelling Hippogriff dung.

"The snake must have really screwed up this time," she tsked. "Oh, wait; there's nothing wrong with being a Slytherin. Right, James?"

"That's what we told mum and dad, anyway," he replied. Screw it all; Albus was going to hex the magic out of James.

"The two of you better get the hell out of my room or I'll-" Albus started, his voice low, but at that moment, their father entered the room.

"You'll what?" Harry asked, and Albus paled. _Of course he would only hear that bit_.

"You've got to be kidding me," Albus muttered, as his two siblings sauntered out of the room. He quickly turned away, hoping that his father would leave. Unfortunately, Albus just heard the door close quietly, and the slight creak as his father sat down on the bed.

"Albus," he started, and Albus could tell by the tone of voice this was going to be a serious talk. "I'm sorry for … for lashing out at you earlier. It crossed the line." Unconsciously Al's hand touched his face. His dad sounded so guilty, so sincere, it was almost impossible not to want to forgive him. But then Albus remembered that the words had hurt a hell of a lot more than the punch. He was used to those, but the fact that his father was blatantly ignoring the truth hadn't stopped stinging- and it had been almost six years.

"It's fine," Albus dismissed, turning around. The bright green of his father's eyes met Albus's, but it felt as if his gaze was boring into Albus, pulling out everything he needed to know. For a second they just stared at each other, until Albus looked away. When he glanced back, his father was staring at the only photograph in the room. He reached out to grab it.

"Don't touch that." Albus's voice was cold, harsh, but it had the desired effect. Harry's hand recoiled.

"Er … okay." Scratching his head, Harry motioned his head for Albus to sit down. Albus just stared, and stayed where he was. "The family is going to be here soon, so I really don't have time for these games, Albus. Just sit down." Repressing his annoyance, Albus did as his father asked.

"What is it?" he asked coldly, glancing over the room. Luckily, he had hidden all of his letters from Piper.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, and Albus had to stop himself from displaying his shock. Was he honestly going to listen?

"I don't know. Is the world still butterflies and rainbows?" Albus responded, subtly testing his father and if he was really trustworthy.

"Albus-" he responded, sighing, and Albus knew he was faking the concern.

"Just checking," he replied, but didn't elaborate. Harry sighed again.

"Is it school? Is it Nicole Warrington?" Instinctively, Albus tensed. "So that's it." The satisfaction in his father's voice sent Albus's heart plummeting in his stomach.

"What?" Albus tried to make his voice sound tough and cold, but it cracked instead.

"We'll talk about it later. It's Christmas Eve; go down to the party." Then, his father left, and Albus had no choice but to throw himself (literally) into the lions.

"Albus!" Immediately, Rose called out his name. She was sitting off to the side with Scorpius. He immediately went and joined them. "I just saw Uncle Harry looking upset." The words themselves were innocent, but Albus knew what she was implying.

"We got into a bit of a fight today is all," Albus explained, but he didn't meet her eyes, which were boring into him.

"Classify a bit." Rose's voice was worried.

"I swore at him and he slapped me in the face. Also, I'm delusional if I think the world hates Slytherins," Albus replied touchily, and Scorpius swore under his breath.

"That's rough, mate," he said, and Albus just nodded.

"Dammit, Albus," Rose said, and with a wave of her wand the red mark disappeared. "You need to tell them what's going on. This has gone too far."

"What?" a new voice joined the conversation. It was Teddy, Albus's godbrother. "Holy hipogriffs, Al, what the hell happened between you and Harry? I haven't seen him this angsty since, well … ever."

"Dad and I had a … disagreement," Albus responded touchily, and Teddy whistled.

"Damn, child, you must have really pissed him off." Albus just nodded, looking down. Teddy cleared his throat, before looking around. "Where's Nick? She's sassy; I like her. She annoys the hell out of Dominique, too." Rose took a sharp intake of breath. No one said a word.

"Bloody hell," Teddy said. "I forgot." Being an Auror, Teddy had a general knowledge of Nick's situation. Victoire, his wife, also worked with the department, and obviously her sister knew what was going on, seeing as she was Nick's social worker.

"Yeah," Albus finished touchily. Teddy looked around, before his eyes caught Dominique, who was anxiously talking to Victoire.

"Go eavesdrop on Vic and the she-devil," Teddy said. "I think they're talking about her. If Vic starts to figure it out, I'll jump in."

"Thanks, Teddy," Albus said immediately. Teddy just waved it off, though, and they both meandered over to where the 'bar' was, and Teddy started blabbering a long and boring story at Albus, who tuned in to what Dominique was saying.

"Something just didn't feel right. Believe me, I know that kid- she's one of the most heartless and arrogant people I've ever met- but she was literally shaking when I brought her there. And after the first time, she was so beat up… he said it was from tripping and running in the forest, but I don't know .. he was just creepy, Vic. And when I went to check up yesterday, something was off. The girl looked fine, but there was something different about her. As if it wasn't really her," Dominique said, her face creased with worry. "I don't know what to do. I shouldn't have done this. No matter what I thought, or think, she's still a person." Then Dominique put her face in her hands, looking almost like Nick had the month she wouldn't speak to anyone.

Albus was, quite frankly, shocked. Dominique had never expressed any sort of slight concern for Nick before. What had made her start now?

He nodded his thanks to Teddy, before wandering back over to Scorpius and Rose. Now, though, Piper was there. She … she looked really nice. Her hair was in a loose plait to the side, and she wore a Christmas sweater with white jeans. And Albus swore she had a touch of make-up on, because her eyes were darker. The familiar uneasiness in his stomach was there, too, like it often was with Piper. No, that sounded wrong.

It was hard to explain. Piper was one of the easiest people to be around- they could read each other like books- but lately things had seen off. It was almost tense, as if there was some secret that they couldn't let each other know.

"Hey, Piper," Albus greeted, pushing the thoughts out of his head. "You look lovely tonight." There was a slight rosiness to Piper's cheeks, and she looked down at her butterbeer.

"My mum doesn't think so. She thinks I should have worn a dress," she replied touchily. Rose rolled her eyes.

"_Honestly_, I don't know what your mum was thinking. Who the hell would wear a dress here?" Rose replied, and Scorpius grabbed her hand.

"I think you look beautiful, love," he said, and Rose managed to keep from blushing.

"Stop kissing my arse," she replied, but let him kiss her lightly. Piper laughed, but Albus just stared downward. He had gotten used to his cousin kissing his mate a while ago, but it was still awkward.

"Albus, what was Dominique talking about?" Piper asked suddenly, trying to break through the tension. "Rose said you were eavesdropping."

"Oh yeah," Albus replied, his heart sinking. "Er … she said Nick was scared, and that she checked up, but something didn't seem right."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked. "She was fine, right?" There was just a slight edge to Scorpius's voice, but Albus knew he was scared witless. Nick was family to him.

"Physically, it seemed so. Dominique seemed to think it wasn't really Nick, though …"

"Well, it's easy enough to get a hold of Polyjuice potion nowadays, or there could be an enchantment," Rose replied logically. The colour in Albus's face disappeared.

"She's not really there, is she?" he asked, and was met with silence. Piper touched his hand lightly, but shook her head.

"Or she is, but he has to hide her." Everyone let her words sink in. Scorpius just swore under his breath.

"How the hell do they not know this bloke is bloody crazy?" he asked. "Nick isn't the only one."

"That's even scarier," Piper countered, and Scorpius's mouth snapped shut.

"This has gone too far," Rose commented. "They can't send kids to places like these, and they can't let us tear each other apart at school. What will happen when _we're_ in charge?"

"There's nothing we can do to change it. It's just the way it is," Albus replied bitterly. "No one at the Ministry cares."

"What's going to happen to her?" Piper's voice was calm, but the sudden question startled everyone. They couldn't deny they hadn't been thinking about it, though. "Even if she does survive … is she going to be okay?"

"No." Scorpius's voice was barely a whisper. "It's too late for that."

After that, there was silence. It was only broken when Uncle George stumbled over to them.

"Why do you all look like you're at a funeral? It's Christmas tomorrow!" he said loudly. Even though his feet were planted, he was swaying slightly. "Oh, you're up to something," he said, winking. "If it's a prank, just make sure you get Percy. Why I remember when I..." And then he wandered away, humming something under his breath.

"If Uncle George can tell we're doing something secretive..." Rose commented, and Piper looked grim.

"Then we're not being secretive at all," Piper finished, and Albus put a protective arm around her. While Scorpius smiled slightly, nudging Rose, Albus ignored it.

"Meet me in the garden. I never got your letter," he muttered, the real reasoning behind the affectionate gesture. Piper nodded almost imperceptivity, before Albus pulled away.

"Even my parents know something's wrong," Piper commented. "They've never noticed before, but now they keep asking me about school and such … why I spent so much time in my room …"

"Mine, too. They guessed that it's about Nick, though. They're really worried," Scorpius added. Rose and Albus just nodded. Albus wanted to tell them about how his parents didn't believe him, but he knew it wasn't the time. This was about Nick.

"Hang on. I think I know someone who can help us." Standing up, Albus walked away, making a beeline toward a certain cluster of people. Looking around, he saw that Uncle Ron was shooting Scorpius death glares again, but Albus knew that if he wasn't it would be an indicator that something was wrong.

As he drew closer, every fibre of him was screaming to just turn around, to ask again later when his mother wasn't around. _For Nick_, he thought, though, and steeled his nerves.

"Erm, can I talk to you for a minute, Aunt Hermione?" he asked politely, and his mother raised an eyebrow at him. Aunt Hermione looked slightly confused, but smiled anyway.

"Of course," she said. "We'll continue this talk later, Ginny." His aunt's voice was stern, but Albus's mother just rolled her eyes. She gave Albus a calculating look, as if she were trying to figure out what he was up to. Ignoring it, Albus followed his aunt into the next room.

"I was wondering if you could explain a new section of the law to me," Albus said, and his Aunt's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Is this about B-17?" she asked, and Albus's eyes widened. _She knew?_ "I'll take that as a yes. In all honesty, I am disgusted by it. The foster system has been slowly deteriorating, and Smith is going about fixing it the entirely wrong way. It isn't the children that are the problem … it's the adults." Aunt Hermione paused, her eyes fixed on Albus, gauging his reaction. "Why do you ask, Albus?"

Albus had been afraid of that question.

"Erm, I," Albus stuttered, before taking a deep breath. "I have a friend. She's in trouble with the law; she might be arrested at the end of Christmas holidays," he explained. It wasn't too specific, but it let him know (judging by his aunt's reply) if she'd be willing to help if Nick would need it.

"Nicole Warrington." There was a sharp intake of breath. Albus hadn't known his aunt knew. "Yes, I know about her situation; she's somewhat famous around the department," Aunt Hermione explained, and Albus nodded, swallowing hard. "And you lot are obviously worried about her, and the fact that's with …" but his aunt refused to finished.

"We know about _him_," Albus replied, the disgust evident in his voice. His aunt nodded in reply, but she was obviously uneasy.

"Right. Some of us have looked into this; we know how … unstable … he is. But there is no evidence to suggest that he ever lay a finger on any of his charges. Besides, he's one of the only one willing to take them …" It was hard for Albus to choke back his disgust. They_knew_ about him, but they still sent kids there?

"There's nothing you could have done?" Albus replied, and his aunt's face fell. He hadn't been able to keep his emotion out of the way.

"We can't prove anything; there's no evidence. There is someone looking into it, though … he hasn't been able to find anything. We were hoping he would have before …" she hastily tried to explain.

"Before you had to send Nick there," Albus finished. "Would you, if something happened, would you … could you help her?" They had been hesitant at asking Rose's mum for help, simply because of her rank in the ministry. Now, though, they were out of options.

"Of course. Your father and I already decided that a long time ago. And Albus," his aunt started, her face hardening, "don't be so harsh to everyone, especially your parents. They know more than you think, as well." Then she left, leaving Albus standing there with his growing anger. His parents didn't know a thing; they refused to.

Albus needed time to think. It was all happening too fast; he needed a plan, an idea… something. Anything, really. He silently slipped into the garden, sitting down on the snow. The cold sharpened his mind, and for a while Albus just sat there. Even then, though, he couldn't think of anything to help Nick. There simply wasn't anything he could, apart from running away and finding her himself. (And, honestly, that plan was looking more and more plausible by the second.)

"Hey, Al," Scorpius said sometime later, sitting down next to Albus. He looked up at the sky. Albus followed his gaze, and he was instantly reminded of all the times he and Nick had sat in the Astronomy tower doing the same thing.

"She would have loved to be out here right now," he said, and Scorpius nodded. For a second his eyes looked a little watery.

"Do you ever wonder what she would be like if none of this had ever happened to her?" Scorpius asked. "There are tons of pictures of her mum in my mum's old photo albums. They were best friends at school, you know. Nick's mum seemed so … open, so happy. She was always smiling. I can't help but wonder if Nick would be the same way today."

"It's honestly hard to imagine a happy Nick," Albus replied.

"That's the scary part. My parents have been worried about her for years, with how detached she is …" Scorpius said, and Albus nodded.

"They know what's going on, then? With school?" Albus replied, and Scorpius gave his confirmation. "Mine don't. They think I'm making it all up." It took a moment for that to sink in.

"I think they do, Al, but they just can't accept it. They fought for a better life for us, and we've gone and mucked it up horribly," Scorpius replied.

"That's the truth." There was an awkward pause. "Say, do you know where Piper is? I needed to talk to her about something …" Scorpius knew why Albus had changed the subject: he was angry. It was as simple as that.

"I think she was heading out here when she was stopped by one of her brothers. They got into some sort of a fight, and the last I saw her mother was dragging her off," Scorpius explained, and Albus cursed.

For a while the two just sat there in silence and watching the snowfall, but it was stopped short when a shrill scream rang through the night. Instinctively, he looked to the cliff that looked over the village- over his house. Two people were barely discernable. Immediately, he and Scorpius took off. Someone needed help.

They ran to the path in the woods, and Albus knew his father and Uncle Ron wouldn't be far behind. He and Scorpius had the advantage of speed, though, and they tore through the forest, trying desperately to reach the cliff in time. Eventually, though, Albus sped up, and Scorpius wasn't able to keep up.

When Albus finally reached the clearing, the two people were lying on the ground, a man and a girl, and the snow around each of them was stained with red. Albus stopped in his tracks; he recognized one of the people. He only knew one person with that sweater.

The girl was Nick. She was almost unrecognisable beneath the bruises and cuts, and blood covered her shirt. Somehow, Nick was still conscious, but she was barely breathing through her blue lips. And her eyes- her eyes were unfocused; a million miles away.

Grabbing her hand, Albus squeezed it as tight as he could, letting her know that he was there. It had been twitching near her pocket, and Albus just wanted Nick to know that someone was there- she wasn't going to die.

"It'll be alright. It will be fine. Just stay awake, Nick. Help is coming; you're going to make it," Al told her, and just kept repeating the same type of things. Her face was tight with pain, but Albus honestly couldn't bring himself to look at her stomach. Nick was slowly slipping away, though; her eyes were closing. Just before they shut entirely, her other hand fumbled around in her pocket and grasped a photograph. There was something in red on the back. Red. _Blood_.

"Happy Christmas, Al" she breathed, before her eyes fluttered shut. By this time Scorpius had dropped beside Albus, and his father was just barrelling into the clearing. Harry Potter immediately knocked his son out of the way and scooped Nick into his arms, before disappearing with a crack. Uncle Ron stood over the other man, before turning to Scorpius and Albus.

"He's dead," he croaked, but Al wasn't looking at the man. If he were still alive, Albus would have killed him himself. He was the one who had done _that_ to Nick. He was the reason she was bleeding to death in the snow.

After a second, Albus realized there was something in his hand. It was the paper Nick had given him- no, it wasn't a paper. There, smeared with blood, was one of the photographs Albus given Nick. Forcing back tears, Albus recognized his own face and Piper's smiling back at him, but his eyes were drawn to Nick. She just looked so … happy. _Was that only two months ago?_

"Albus, what is that?" his uncle asked, and suddenly Albus couldn't hold back the tears.

"Nothing," he said, but his voice cracked. Scorpius was just frozen; he hadn't moved since Nick had left.

"If it's evidence …" Uncle Ron trailed off. That seemed to shake Scorpius out if it.

"No. It isn't," he replied coldly.

"We need to go," Albus said, and Scorpius nodded. "Nick .. I need to know she's okay."

"Wait … you know her?" Uncle Ron looked positively shocked.

"She's like my sister," Scorpius replied coldly just as Albus said the same thing.

The only reply was Ron swearing.

"Let's go," Scorpius said, and Albus just nodded. There was still a tear running down his face. _No. He couldn't cry. He had to stop. _

That just made the tears stream faster.

"Yeah," Albus choked out, and Scorpius looked at him as if he was just seeing Albus for the first time. Then a tear of his own escaped, and Scorpius swore under his breath.

"We need to go," Scorpius replied, but he was standing still. Everything was crashing down.

"Well, are just going to stand there? Didn't your dads teach you how to apparate yet?" Albus's uncle's voice was serious, but there was a slight twinkle in his eyes.

With a crack, they were gone.


End file.
